The National Board of Revenue has provided the hi-tech park developers in the country with exemption from paying all types of duties on import of products for development of the parks. The materials available in the country will not be eligible for enjoying the exemption, according to a statutory regulatory order issued by the revenue board on December 6. The hi-tech parks developers, appointed by the government, would be able to import products related to development of the parks without paying import duty, regulatory duty, supplementary duty and value-added tax upon fulfilling some conditions, according to the SRO. The benefit will be applicable only to the items approved and recommended by the Bangladesh Hi-Tech Park Authority but the duty waiver will not be applicable to construction materials including MS rod/bar, cement, pre-fabricated building, and iron/steel sheets available in Bangladesh, it said. The products including office equipments, air conditioner, refrigerator, passenger vehicle, household items and similar products which are not directly connected to the development of hi-tech park will not be entitled for the benefit, the SRO stated. The developers must be registered with the VAT authority of the revenue board for enjoying the exemption. Earlier, the government offered a 10-year income tax exemption facility to attract foreign investors to the hi-tech parks. The government has taken initiative to set up a number of hi-tech parks in several districts in the country to promote development of information technology and IT-enabled service industries. Currently, the development of Kaliakoir Hi-Tech Park located in Gazipur and Jessore Hi-Tech Park is under progress. In a separate SRO, the NBR also imposed 15 per cent regulatory duty on import of copper bars and copper tubes, and 10 per cent regulatory duty on import of copper plates in a move to protect the domestic industry. Currently, there is 10 per cent customs duty applicable to the import of these products which are mainly used in air-conditioning and refrigeration system and other electric and electronics industries. Officials said that some domestic entrepreneurs were producing the items in the country and the RD had been imposed to protect the domestic producers.
