The proposed budget for FY25 is not unrealistic. However, business-friendly policy support needs to be implemented, said Bangladesh Garment Accessories and Packaging Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGAPMEA) President Al Shahriar Ahmed.
He made the remarks during a post-budget press conference in Dhaka on Thursday, where he said, "We demand the withdrawal of all new policy adaptations and increased duties of the export-oriented sector. If the government considers our demands, they will be able to implement the budget easily."
Shahriar said that the finance minister proposed many good policies in his budget proposal.
"But we are confused about welcoming the budget. Tolerance level inflation gives small entrepreneurs the opportunity to do business, which creates employment. That also helps the government earn revenue.
"However, the proposed budget lacks specific guidelines in this area," he remarked. "Moreover, raising the regular taxpayer's rate to 30 per cent while offering an amnesty to holders of undisclosed money with just a 15 per cent tax rate is illogical and unfair."
In his written speech, Shahriar proposed a reduction in the source tax from the current 1 per cent to 0.5 per cent for the next five years, considering this as a final settlement. He also urged the withdrawal of the proposed 200-400 per cent penalty for unintentional HS Code mismatches and advocated for allowing utility connections and bank loans for factories located outside industrial zones for a period of five years.
Mentioning that the accessories and packaging sector both directly and indirectly earns nearly $9 billion annually, and its global market size is around $700 billion, the BGAPMEA president said, "We are demanding the implementation of cash incentives for the accessories and packaging sector as deemed by the exporters."
"We demand that all goods and services be out of duty and VAT for the packaging and accessories sector."
In reply to a question, former president of BGAPMEA, Rafez Alam Chowdhury, said, "The private sector is of utmost importance in creating employment. We already know through the BBS survey that over 1 lakh private sector employees have dropped out.
"We directly earned over $1.5 billion through the accessories and packaging sector, which is not countable when compared to the $700 billion global market size. This market is dominated by China and Vietnam, though we have enough capacity to grab the market."
Echoing Rafez Alam, Al Shahriar said, "Not only the garment sector but also we are manufacturing accessories and packaging for almost all export sectors. We are meeting nearly all local demands.
"Unfortunately, we have yet to get the government's attention. We will work with the government to grab the opportunity."
Shahriar urged the government to withdraw the decision to increase VAT to 15 per cent from the existing 5 per cent and issue an Utilisation Declaration facility to smooth raw material import for the accessories and packaging sector.
