Bangladesh Textile Mills Association (BTMA) leaders have urged the government to reduce the income tax rate from 15 per cent to 12.5 per cent till 2028. They also urged the government to include yarn and fabric as VAT exempted items as the sale of local yarn and fabric has declined drastically BTMA leaders said the business of local millers have been damaged due to misuse of bonded warehouse facilities. They said yarn, fabric and other dress-making materials are being imported under mis-declaration and duty-free facilities. The sale of fabric and local yarn has reduced drastically and 50-60 per cent of the looms have been remained closed for a long period of time. Around 50-60 thousand power looms have been shut down so far out of 1 lakh, said BTMA chief. It is apprehended that more local mills likely to be shut down due to lack of new work orders, BTMA leaders said this to the reporters at a hotel in the capital yesterday. Mohammad Ali Khokon, president of Bangladesh Textile Mills Association (BTMA), said that local weaving and spinning mills are shutting as they are not getting proper prices of yarn and fabric and counting losses. The imported items are coming under mis-declaration and duty-free facilities which have already flooded in the market, causing threat to the local mills, he added. In our spinning mills, only 80 lakh spindles are running out of 1 crore 10 lakh, said BTMA chief. Woven dying mills have reduced their capacity below 40 per cent while export-oriented spinning mills are forced to sell their products at a lower rate compared to their production cost resulting in huge stockpiling of yarn and fabric, he noted. “If the situation prolongs, factories may be unable to pay wages and forced to close down due to liquidity crisis,” he said. The BTMA leader said that over 8 to 10 lakh pieces of dresses, including sari, three pieces and other shirting clothes, were entering into Bangladesh illegally through 17 border markets and the items were being taken to Dhaka city through railway. BTMA leaders also demanded the cash incentives to 15 per cent from existing 4.0 per cent, strong monitoring to stop import under mis-declaration and misuse of the bonded warehouse facilities. “We are not against ‘import’ but we want level playing field so that products can not enter illegally inside the country,” said BTMA chief. The BTMA urged the government to launch a drive in the textile producing areas to prevent sales of illegally imported yearns and fabrics and to ensure proper management of bonded warehouses. BTMA President Mohammad Ali Khokon, vice-presidents Alamgir Shamsul Alamin, Abdullah Al Mamun, were present at the meeting.
