Leaders of Rangpur Chamber of Commerce and Industry (RCCI) have called upon local and foreign entrepreneurs for investing more in Uttara Export Processing Zone (EPZ) by availing the prevailing investment and export friendly atmosphere there, reports BSS. They asked for further increasing and improving facilities already established export-oriented industries to attract more local and foreign investments at the Uttara EPZ situated only 18 kilometres off from Syedpur airport in Nilphamari. They were addressing a seminar on ‘Developing Investment’ organised by the Uttara EPZ authority at its Zone Service Building auditorium on Tuesday for chamber leaders and entrepreneurs of Rangpur division to discuss various issues on establishing industrialists there. SM Akhter Alam Mostaki, general manager of Uttara EPZ, presided over the day-long seminar participated by the leaders of different chambers, industrialists and entrepreneurs from all over Rangpur division. In the beginning, a power point presentation demonstrated achievements in providing better services, creating a congenial environment and successes already achieved by the local and foreign investors through setting up industries at Uttara EPZ. The presentation also narrated the maximum facilities and export-oriented congenial atmosphere those have been insured for the already established industries at Uttara EPZ by local and foreign investors for attracting more investments there. Mostafa Sohrab Chowdhury Titu, Rangpur chamber president; Mosaddek Hossain, Dinajpur chamber president; SM Shafikul Alam Dablu, Nilphamari chamber president and Anwara Ferdousi Poly, Rangpur Women’s chamber addressed the seminar discussing various prospects the Uttara EPZ and related issues. Highlighting the tremendous prospect of Uttara EPZ, the chamber leaders called for supplying natural gas to the EPZ to further inspire the local and foreign investors in setting up industries, there to boost the economy of the region and the country as a whole. They suggested for upgrading Syedpur airport to international standard and Chilahati land customs station, 38 kilometres off from the EPZ, to a full-fledged Land Port to ease export-import activities with the north-eaters States of India, Bhutan and Nepal. They suggested for adding mixed-gage rail lines with Uttara EPZ from Syedpur railway junction to connect it with Mongla Port (586 kilometres off from Uttara EPZ) and Chittagong Port (650 kilometres off from Uttara EPZ) for attracting local and foreign investors. Besides, the chamber leaders called upon the Uttara EPZ authority for arranging similar seminars at all district level chambers of commerce and industry in the Rangpur division with a view to attract the local investors for setting up industries at the Uttara EPZ.

Source: https://www.theindependentbd.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=256465:chamber-leaders-call-for-investing-at-uttara-epz&catid=110:business-others&Itemid=156

Leaders of export bodies made proposal to continue the 0.30 per cent tax at source against the export of readymade garments (RMG) for the next five years and for considering the tax paid as the final tax return. Leaders of BGMEA), BKMEA, EAB and Bangladesh Garments Accessories and Packaging Manufacturers Association (BGAPMEA) and came up with the proposal at a pre-budget meeting with the officials of the National Board of Revenue (NBR) at its conference room yesterday. They also demanded exemption on VAT on gas, water and electricity in the manufacturing units, which are used for only exporting goods. Farid Uddin, senior member of NBR, presided the meeting. The leaders of the trade bodies submitted their written proposal ahead of the announcement of the upcoming budget. BGMEA President M Atiqul Islam said the RMG sector would have to face challenges in the next few years. “So, the sector needs injection for its survival overcoming the challenges, and that is why continuation of 0.30 per cent tax at source in next five years is required,” he added. The government set 0.30 per cent taxes at source in the current 2014-15 fiscal, which was 0.80 per cent on the 10 per cent profit. The BGMEA president mentioned buyers of 220 brands could monitor all the updates including nominal cracks and faults at buildings of 1700 factories of BGMEA from abroad on www.fairfactories.org, which was developed after the Rana Plaza tragedy. “So, without compliance, nobody can run business,” Atiqul said. He also proposed for continuation of 10 per cent tax for the RMG sector till June 30, 2019. Replying to the leaders of export bodies, NBR Senior Member Farid Uddin said the proposals and suggestions placed by the businessmen would be considered. “NBR will continue to provide necessary policy support to the businesses in the future as it has been doing at present,” he added. Farid also emphasised establishing participatory relation among the regulatory bodies and entrepreneurs.

Source: https://www.theindependentbd.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=256470:exporters-for-continuation-of-source-tax&catid=108:business-finance&Itemid=152

The country’s apparel makers placed a number of demands Wednesday to the government that include deduction of 0.3 per cent source tax on CM against FoB and 10 per cent income tax till 2019. Their demands also included duty- free import of fire proof colour coating for pre-fabricated building materials and other energy saving equipment like LED bulb and tube light to help ensure a safe and environment-friendly industry. “Exporters are paying 0.30 per cent AIT while it is also mandatory for importing various raw materials. As a result, an exporter is paying AIT several times for a single shipment,” Md Atiqul Islam, president of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) said at a pre-budget meeting. So the tax at source should be deducted only on CM (cutting and making) instead of FoB as companies open back to back L/C (letter of credit) for importing raw materials worth 70 to 80 per cent of the FoB price, he explained. The National Board of Revenue (NBR) held the pre-budget meeting with the readymade garment, knitwear and accessories and packaging makers to review their proposals for next fiscal year budget. NBR member Md Farid Uddin chaired the meeting held at its office in the city. President of Exporters Association of Bangladesh Abdus Salam Murshedy and BGMEA former vice president Siddiqur Rahman, among others, were present in the meeting. “Some 40 per cent of the garment units are located in shared or rented buildings creating employment opportunities for about 1.4 million workers, ” the BGMEA president said demanding duty -free colour import for pre-fabricated building materials to help them relocate and others to expand their capacity saying buyers would not place orders to those units after 2018. The BGMEA president also demanded continuation of the 0.30 per cent source tax till next five years and 10 per cent income tax till 2019. AH Aslam Sunny, first vice president of Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA) said the 5.0 per cent cash incentive on using local yarn/fabric provided by the government is a subsidy to make the sector competitive in the global market. He requested the government not to impose any tax on that cash incentive and return the money realised since fiscal year (FY) 2009-10 to 2012-13 and also increase the cash support to 8.0 per cent.

Source: www.thefinancialexpress-bd.com/2015/04/30/90870

Garment makers yesterday called upon the National Board of Revenue to collect 0.3 percent tax at source on 10 percent of their profits from exports, instead of overall profits.The NBR now collects source tax at 0.3 percent on overall profit on apparel export by an individual company in a year, which was introduced in the current budget, scrapping the previous provision of 0.8 percent tax on 10 percent of profit.Atiqul Islam, president of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association, proposed the option at a pre-budget meeting with revenue officials at the NBR office in Dhaka.slam said, although the NBR reduced the source tax to 0.3 percent from 0.8 percent, the revenue office has started collecting the tax on overall profit, which is a major deviation from what they had actually demanded.“We also want removal of value added tax on the local purchase of raw materials, as the option to impose such taxes is not allowed in the current law,” Islam added.He also proposed removing all taxes on the import of materials to construct pre-fabricated factory buildings at the ‘garment village’ and fireproof colour coating.Rafez Alam Chowdhury, president of Bangladesh Garments Accessories and Packaging Manufacturers and Exporters Association, proposed authorising the association to issue certificates of ‘utilisation permission’, which is a statement of required materials to manufacture export goods. “We need to build a long-term partnership between the tax office and garment exporters so that we can remove all barriers in business through discussion,” said Farid Uddin, a member of the NBR, while chairing the meeting.Aslam Sunny, acting president of Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association, and Abdus Salam Murshedy, a former BGMEA president, also spoke.

Source: https://www.thedailystar.net/business/garment-exporters-want-revision-rules-tax-source-79826

Bangladesh should launch the National Employment Injury Insurance Programme to bring all factory workers under insurance coverage, said Srinivas B Reddy, country director for International Labour Organisation.At present, only 25 workers of each factory enjoy insurance benefits — and they are chosen randomly. But under the proposed programme, all workers will be includedThe insurance, which will be mandatory for all factories, will cover health, unfortunate death and other workplace accidents, and factory owners will need to pay less than Tk 60 as premium for each worker every month.“We have to learn from the faults of the Rana Plaza. We have to integrate the workers with the national system. We have to look to the future,” he told The Daily Star in an interview.Of the 1,138 workers that died in the Rana Plaza collapse two years ago, the families of only 100 of them received insurance benefit worth Tk 1 lakh each. The ILO country director also touched upon the issues of compensation disbursement to the victims, imparting financial know-how to them to ensure best use of the money, workplace safety and so on.He said every victim of the Rana Plaza has already received 70 percent of their compensation amount and the remaining payment will be disbursed to them soon. So far, a total of Tk 126 crore, or $16.4 million, has been disbursed to 4,969 victims or their families as compensation over the last two years. A total of $24 million has been deposited in the Rana Plaza Trust Fund, but the fund is still short of $6 million. Initially, the trust fund aimed to collect $40 million, but the target was later brought down to $30 million after reluctance from many international retailers and donors to follow through on their commitments. He said the ILO has been offering training to the surviving victims and dependants of the deceased on how to make the best use of their money. Officials of the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) and Bangladesh Institute of Labour Studies (BILS) have already imparted trainings to some batches of compensation beneficiaries over the last one year.Regarding the progress of workplace safety in the garment sector, he said the country has improved a lot in that area since the ill-fated event on April 24, 2013, as the government and private sector entrepreneurs have taken a lot of positive initiatives.Reddy went on to recommend the government to strengthen the capacities of RAJUK, the newly-formed Department of Inspection of Factories and Establishments and the Department of Fire Service and Civil Defence such that they can continue with their safety improvement activities in factories. He also suggested for building long-term partnerships with the trade unions for sustainability of the garment business in the country. “Allowing 305 trade unions in the factories within one and a half years is a good sign of practising trade unionism in the country.”“Now, Bangladesh needs to launch social dialogues involving trade union leaders, retailers, government officials, rights groups and owners to avoid any misunderstanding in the sector.”Reddy said the country has a very bright future in garment business as it has successfully navigated the troubled waters after the Rana Plaza collapse. “I am very optimistic that Bangladesh’s garment sector will continue to grow, as very positive trends are already being seen in the form of higher export volumes despite odds like Rana Plaza.”

Source: https://www.thedailystar.net/business/give-insurance-coverage-all-factory-workers-ilo-country-director-79837

Country’s apparel traders seek to retain the manual system alongside automated one until efficient realtime update of export data is ensured in the electronic export mechanism. They noted that the relevant data are not being uploaded instantly by the customs or the central bank after export processing. As such, the exporters fear, fully automated export system could delay shipment of goods. Currently, the central bank is uploading the e-EXP data thrice a day and the mechanism is linked with the customs automated system. Leaders of the apex apparel body, Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), made this proposal to the National Board of Revenue (NBR) at a meeting Sunday. The NBR arranged the meeting to discuss the launch of online export system, codenamed e-EXP, to make export procedure speedy and automated. The e-EXP was scheduled to be launched in full swing on February 18, 2015 as the revenue board and the Bangladesh Bank had completed test run. Under the system, authorised dealer banks will upload the export documents on Bangladesh Bank’s foreign-exchange-transaction-monitoring dashboard. The central bank will forward those to the ASYCUDA World System of the Customs after verifying the authenticity of these documents. Customs officials will process bill of export in line with the online data and release the exports for export. BGMEA president Atiqul Islam said they were facing problem in processing export documents smoothly due to absence of realtime update data in customs Asycuda world system. “It has been found that amendment of export data is not available in the system, making the export process lengthy,” he said. He underscored the need for awareness building and training to make exporters familiar with the latest system. Customs officials said BB was yet to launch realtime updating system of the data to send into the customs system Bangladesh Bank joint director Anisur Rahman said tender had already been invited to install the system of real-time update which would be completed shortly. To resolve the problem, the NBR formed a committee headed by the NBR member (customs policy) to prepare a time-bound action plan. At the meeting, NBR chairman Nojibur Rahman said the committee, comprising representatives from the NBR, BGMEA, BKMEA and Bangladesh Bank, would work out its action plan within a week. Currently, e-L/C system is in full-scale operation, making L/C opening transparent. Meanwhile, the NBR held another meeting Sunday with the facilitators of the Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR). The NBR chairman chaired the meeting that discussed settlement of unresolved court cases of income tax, VAT and customs wing, involving a hefty amount of Tk 280 billion, through ADR. Former adviser of caretaker government Tapan Chowdhury, former NBR member Ali Ahmed, ACI group managing director Anis Ud Dowla and Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) adviser Manzur Ahmed attended the meeting and gave their suggestions for popularizing the system. NBR members Begum Jahan Ara Siddiqui, Kalipada Halder and Khandaker Aminur Rahman also attended the meeting.

Source: https://www.thefinancialexpress-bd.com/2015/03/30/86857

The life of a Bangladeshi garment factory worker is not an easy one, but the new research by the University of Washington (UW) suggests something else. The new study indicates that access to such factory jobs improves the lives of young Bangladeshi women, motivating them to stay in school and lowering their likelihood of early marriage and childbirth. The April 2013 collapse of a commercial garment factory building that killed more than 1,100 people thrust the industry into a harsh spotlight and brought attention and concern from human rights groups. But amid the hardships, the new findings show that there is a quiet upside of the factory work for many Bangladeshi women. Economist Rachel Heath of the University of Washington and co-author A. Mushfiq Mobarak of the Yale University School of Management studied data on school enrollment and marriage and childbirth outcomes from 1,395 households in 60 Bangladeshi villages in the year 2009. The study released last month found that girls between 12 and 18 years old who have lived in the proximity of a garment factory for about six years — the average time studied — were 28% less likely to be married than those living in villages in the same district that were not close to a factory. The girls who live near a factory tend to have 1.5 more years of education than their brothers when surveyed. This represents a 50% increase in girls’ educational attainment over villages without a garment factory nearby. The girls and young women who are exposed to factory jobs when they are 10 to 23 years old are 79% more likely to work outside their home before marriage. Overall, girls are 7.2 percentage points more likely to be enrolled in schools when factories open near their village. This effect is especially strong among young girls, 5 to 9 years of age. They also found that in the areas surveyed, the demand for education generated through manufacturing growth in Bangladesh accounts for more growth of educational opportunities for girls than the Female Secondary School Assistance Programme, a large-scale government-funded programme to encourage female schooling “We document the likelihood of marriage and childbirth at early ages drops sharply for girls when they gain exposure to the ready-made garment sector,” said the report. “In summary, access to factory jobs significantly lowers the risk of early marriage and childbirth for girls in Bangladesh,” Heath and Mobarak wrote in the report. A small negative effect to factory job access on education also was found: Unlike the positive effect for those younger girls, those who were 17-18 years old were slightly more likely to leave school for factory employment. “Of course, to say the industry has had positive effects does not deny that there have been serious tragedies,” Heath said. “We think that increased monitoring of conditions inside the factories can allow Bangladesh to reap the benefits of these jobs while minimising the safety risks of working in them.” The results, the researchers write, also provide one explanation, unexplored until now, for accelerated gender equity in education in Bangladesh, “thus generating policy implications for other countries interested in emulating Bangladesh’s success.” The ready-made garment industry in Bangladesh has grown tremendously in the last 30 years and now accounts for more than 80% of the country’s exports and there are about 40 lakh such workers in Bangladesh, 80% of whom are women, according to Bangladesh Garments Manufacturers and Exporters Association.

Source: https://www.dhakatribune.com/business/2015/mar/29/study-rmg-jobs-help-lower-child-marriage-rate#sthash.C1pmR9fu.dpuf

The agro-processing sector in the country has the potential to create a large market like that of readymade garments (RMG) at home and abroad if necessary help from the government is ensured. Speakers made the observation at the inaugural session of a day-long training on improvement of production in small and medium agro-processing industries of the members of Bangladesh Agro-Processors’ Association (BAPA) in the city on Saturday. The BAPA and the Agro-Products Business Promotion Council (APBPC) jointly organised the training, said a press release. About 40 members of BAPA, who are agro-SME entrepreneurs based in Dhaka, took part in the training programme. Senior Vice President of BAPA Mohammad Sahab Uddin spoke at the inaugural session as chief guest with General Secretary of BAPA Raju Ahmed in the chair. In his address, the chief guest said the training was a timely step. People in the country were now getting interested in taking ready food items. It increased the demand in the agro-food sector. “But the agro-processing suffers from lack of skills, experience and appropriate technology. The sector has the potentials like that of the RMG of Bangladesh. If the government increases its supports for us and if we can ensure quality of products the sector can expand markets at home and abroad,” he observed. He said that at the training the barriers to growth of the sector needed to be discussed and those should be identified for drawing attention of the government to the solution. In his address, the BAPA general secretary said that now the number of exporters and competitors in the agro-processing sector is higher than when it started its journey in the nineties. Referring to the recently passed safe food law, he urged the authorities concerned to be cautious about any misuse of the law. He said if the SME entrepreneurs are harassed in the name of law enforcement, then the objective of the law would not be achieved.

Source: https://www.thefinancialexpress-bd.com/2015/03/29/86707

Readymade garments (RMG) worth Tk 42 billion (4,200 crore) have become stocklot due to the ongoing political troubles marked by frequent hartal and blockade, according to the research cell of the apparel exporters’ association. The apparel exporters missed the shipment deadlines fixed by several global business partners resulting in the buildup of the stocklots worth Tk 42 billion, according to the BGMEA (Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association). “The apparel industry is seriously affected by the political turmoil and countrywide blockade”, Md Shahidullah Azim, vice president of the BGMEA, told the FE. The BNP-led 20-party alliance has been enforcing the countrywide transport blockade since January 6 last amid frequent hartals to press home their demands. He said due to the countrywide blockade the exporters could not transport their products to seaports for shipment in time. He said: “There is a timeframe when we get work orders, and if we fail to meet the schedule, then the global buyers cancel their work orders or offer discounted prices on the products”. He said according to their observation over the last 81 days of blockade RMG stocklots to the tune of more than Tk 42 billion were created as a number of foreign buyers cancelled their shipment orders. Mr Azim said the global business partners were not only cancelling their orders but also postponing scheduled visits. The developments have been taking its toll on fresh work orders. He said in last two months representatives from global buyers including Charles Vogele, G-Star Raw, Jack and Jones, Oliver, River Island, H&M, C&A, PVH and GAP of the US and EU countries cancelled their scheduled visits as they were not interested in coming here for the political turmoil. Managing Director of Eastern Apparels Ltd Nasir Uddin Chowdhury said the RMG sector is suffering as the supply chain has been disrupted due to the blockade. The backward linkage industries of the RMG sector-accessories, washing, dyeing, printing and packaging-had also been severely affected, ultimately putting an adverse effect on the sector. He said the woven industry mostly depends on import of raw materials, but during the strikes they could not import any goods from abroad. Abdus Salam Murshedy, president of Exporters’ Association of Bangladesh (EAB), said in last 81 days their shipments by sea declined by nearly 50 per cent. He said hartals and blockade were like cancer for the RMG sector as the political turmoil affected their supply chain. He said in recent times their liabilities with banks and financial institutions have only gone up as many work orders were yet to be met. He said most of the exporters send their products by sea but for the blockade and hartal they could not ship their export items. An official of Biman Bangladesh Airlines said in last 34 days more than 350,000 tonnes of goods were shipped by air, up 35 per cent in last two months.

Source: https://www.thefinancialexpress-bd.com/2015/03/29/86716

Fashion lovers’ preference for leggings has opened up new opportunity for local exporters, with orders booming for close-fitting knit pants in the last two years, industry insiders said. They said local knit makers are looking to expand capacity to cope with the increasing demand of leggings. More than 600 factories running around the capital Dhaka and the port city Chittagong are making this product, equally popular among males and females. “We are now the second largest exporter of leggings in the global market after China due to quality product and competitive price” AKM Salim Osman, president of Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA) told the FE. He said legging is a knit product, made from cotton, nylon or polyester blend, and it could also be made from wool, silk and other materials. “American and European people are driving the sales of our laggings,” Mr Osman said. He said competitive wage rate, easily trainable local workforce and entrepreneurial skill and government policy support have been helping the legging segment to grow. Leggings are worn by both men and women during exercise, but women usually wear them whenever they like, he said. The contribution of woven and knit garment is almost similar in export figures- 41 per cent and 39 per cent respectively- out of total export. The country’s knitwear industry is now almost self-sufficient in fabric and yarn, driving the legging sub-sector’s growth. For leggings, exporters said, local entrepreneurs have been providing more than 90 per cent fabric out of the total requirement. The BKMEA data showed for better quality and competitive price range, international brands from roughly 90 countries including Charles Vogele, G-Star Raw, Jack and Jones, Oliver, River Island, H&M, C&A, PVH and GAP are sourcing legging product. AH Aslam Sunny, vice president of BKMEA said in recent times, they have observed that demand for denim pants has been decreasing in the US and other countries, but the legging consumption is increasing, helped by the product’s comfortable feature. Mr Sunny said Bangladesh has become the world’s second largest leggings exporter after China, shipping around $ 1.62 billion worth products in July-February period of the current fiscal. He said in countries, where winter lasts long, leggings are getting popular compared with tropical nations, thus helping to boost exports of the product. He said the local company producing legging fabric as a result the manufacturers don’t have to import which is helping to capture the increasing demand to international markets. He said leggings are available in various colours and also have diversified designs, for which the product’s popularity is increasing. M Jamal Uddin, a fashion expert and associate professor of Knitwear Manufacture and Technology (KMT) of BGMEA University of Fashion and Technology (BUFT) said fashion is changing and laggings are especially favourite to females as they are comfortable to wear In recent times, not only ladies, but also gents are increasingly turning to leggings because the wear is flexible, suitable for casual physical activities such as walking, hiking or gardening, replacing the old standby, sweatpants. He said 2015 is going to be a versatile, colourful year in fashion and wear of knitted leggings will be a growing trend for the upcoming winter season. He said the latest addition to fashion trends is denim leggings, which have greater stretch than non-denim products.

Source: https://www.thefinancialexpress-bd.com/2015/03/25/86338