Home ›› 20 Sep 2022 ›› News
The Bangladesh Parjatan Corporation wants a change in the process of fixing tariffs on the import of foreign liquors as it saw around 36 per cent fall in the import of alcoholic beverages that makes up a significant portion of its income.
In the fiscal year 2020-21, the corporation imported foreign liquors worth around $1.1 million which fell to $0.7 million in the 2021-22 fiscal year for high taxation.
Now corporation favours a change in the duty fixation process for liquor import at Chittagong Port to make foreign liquor cheap and available for legal consumers.
The corporation is also anxious over incidents of deaths of local people and foreigners and hospitalisation of some others for consumption of adulterated liquors as foreign liquor became dearer.
Considering the issues, a meeting was held at the Ministry of Civil Aviation and Tourism with its secretary Md Mokammel Hossain in the chair on September 3. Representatives of the National Board of Revenue also attended the meeting.
A general manager of the corporation had informed the meeting that they procure a litre of Heineken brand beer from the producer at $1.52. But the customs at Chittagong Port fixes the price of Heineken brand beer at $2.77 by averaging the prices of beer imported by private entities in the past one year.
Besides, there is a 350 per cent supplementary duty on liquor import and 250 per cent for beer import.
On consumers’ end, the duty cumulates at 590 per cent for liquor and 447 per cent for beer, he said.
Moreover, the corporation also needs to pay 15 per cent VAT while selling liquor to private bars and clubs. Customers of those bars and clubs also need to pay 15 per cent VAT again, he told the meeting.
Then the meeting decided to formally request the NBR to fix the tariff on liquor by calculating the real import price instead of the average price for last one year. The letter will also request allowing the bars owned by the corporation to sell liquor without VAT.
Deaths caused by adulterated liquor
Due to high taxation, private bars are buying liquor from unauthorized sources.
The BPC officials said the high price of liquors at its bars is holding back foreigners from buying liquor from them and they are more interested to source liquor from unauthorized sources to get a lower price.
The corporation established a bar in Rooppur of Pabna to entertain foreigners working at Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant. The bar is not popular as it serves liquor to those foreigners with a 425 per cent duty on liquor and by 310 per cent tariff on beer.
In 2019, a Russian engineer died after consuming locally made liquor.
Md Ali Karad, Chairman, Bangladesh Parjatan Corporation, told The Business Post, “Many people are drinking liquor collecting from the different unauthorised sources in the grey market. We gave our opinion suggesting duty reduction to reduce the spread of adulterate liquor.”
Foreigners can be declared as ‘Privileged people’
The September 3 meeting also called for declaring foreigners working in the nuclear power plant as “privileged persons” and issuing a card so that they can buy liquor at an affordable price.
Some 4,403 foreign citizens, mostly Russian, are working at the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant project in Pabna.
Demand for Carew’s products soar
Spot visits to different bars in Dhaka by The Business Post found most of the bars do not offer foreign liquor. They are selling only local liquor made by state-owned Carew and Co.
“The price increased by around 100 per cent in the past two years. Customers are losing interest in foreign liquor. On the other hand demand for Carew products increased. Even the high demand often causes disruption in the supply chain of Carew product,” said the manager of a bar in Dhaka seeking anonymity.
Carew and Co, however, earned Tk 195 crore in revenue through only liquor in FY2020-21. This is the highest earning in Carew’s history.
