Commerce for withdrawing duty on onion, edible oil, sugar

The Commerce Ministry has requested the National Board of Revenue to withdraw customs duty on import of onions, edible oil, and sugar to keep the prices of daily commodities normal in the market.

Commerce Secretary Tapan Kanti Ghosh confirmed the matter after attending an emergency meeting with business leaders at the ministry on Monday.

Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi attended the meeting virtually.

Tipu Munshi said the country has a stock of 5 lakh tonnes of onions, which will last for almost two and a half months.

The commerce secretary said that he had written a letter to the NBR requesting it to reduce the import duty on onion by 5 per cent.

“It will take a month for new onion stocks to enter the market and the prices can be kept at a tolerable level during this period, he added.

He also wrote to the NBR seeking withdrawal of supplementary duty and advance tax on sugar and edible oil.

He directed strict monitoring to keep market prices normal.

The commerce ministry has also requested the chairman of the Land Port Authority to avoid any congestion in the movement of trucks transporting onions from the border areas.

Besides, two teams, led by commerce ministry officials, will monitor important markets inside city corporation areas in Dhaka daily.

Deputy Commissioners and Upazila Nirbahi Officers with the help of the officials of the Consumer Rights Protection Department will continue monitoring markets across the country.

The ministry also said TCB has been selling 140 to 150 tonnes of onions in 400 trucks across the country daily since September.

A total of 15,000 metric tonnes of onions have already arrived in the country from India and Turkey. Two international tenders have been issued to procure more onions.