BGMEA seeks NBR’s support to overcome ongoing hurdles
Staff Reporter :
The Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) has called upon the National Board of Revenue (NBR) to extend its support and cooperation to the readymade garment industry in the face of ongoing global economic challenges.
BGMEA President Faruque Hassan made the request during a meeting with the NBR Member (Taxes) Md Nazmul Karim held in the capital on Tuesday.
Md Munir Hossain, FBCCI Vice-President and former BGMEA Director, was also present.
The meeting focused on addressing the significant implications of the global trade situation on Bangladesh’s RMG exports and potential strategies to navigate the hurdles and obstacles encountered by the RMG sector.
The problems and challenges related to customs, VAT, and income tax faced by garment exporters in the country also got due importance at the meeting.
The BGMEA president emphasized that the RMG industry in Bangladesh is currently going through a difficult period due to the ongoing global economic turmoil mainly caused by the Russia-Ukraine conflict and high inflation rates.
The worldwide economic slowdown has resulted in reduced consumer spending on clothing, leading to a decline in garment orders and exports. Additionally, the fashion industry’s evolving demands now necessitate shorter lead times for product deliveries, he said.
Pointing to these challenging circumstances, Faruque Hassan stressed the importance of NBR’s faster and hassle-free services to ensure the RMG industry’s competitiveness in the global market.
Delays in shipments, he noted, incur additional costs that further burden the industry, ultimately affecting its competitiveness.
The global economic crisis has already placed substantial pressure on Bangladesh’s economy and foreign currency reserves, he said.
The BGMEA president underscored that maintaining the RMG industry’s competitiveness and continued growth would significantly contribute to bolstering the country’s foreign currency reserves.
Amid the global economic crisis, USA’s apparel import from the world has declined by 22.77 per cent in January-August 2023 to $ 53.45 billion from $ 69.21 billion in the same period of 2022, according to data published by Otexa.
All the top apparel import sources of the USA including China, Vietnam, Bangladesh, India, Indonesia have shown significant negative growth in terms of both value and volume.
The USA’s apparel import from Bangladesh declined by 21.77 per cent to 5.18 billion in the eight-month period from $6.62 billion was in the same period of 2022.
