Budgetary measures proposed for next fiscal year are ‘insufficient’ for the country’s textile and readymade garment (RMG) industry and deemed exports might be hampered, said Bangladesh Textile Mills Association (BTMA) on Sunday.
Hailing the overall budget proposed for FY 2021-22, the BTMA urged the government to reduce source tax to 0.25 per cent, re-fix fabrics tariff value, and 1.0 per cent import duty on all types of spare parts of textile machinery.
BTMA president Mohammad Ali Khokon made the demands at a post-budget press conference held at its city office.
“Unfortunately, the proposed budget didn’t reflect the associations’ proposals including fixation of Tk 3 Value Added Tax (VAT) on all kind of yarn, withdrawal of VAT on a fabric produced from artificial fibre and duty-free import of all types of fibre,” he said.
The BTMA made the proposals to encourage product diversification and also to discourage large import of artificial yarn and manufacture them locally, he noted.
“Though the government has prioritized raising RMG exports and ensuring the role of backward linkage industry, the proposed budgetary measures are insufficient for the sector taking the overall budget into consideration,” Mr Khokon said.
As a result, the deemed exports might be interrupted, he said.
