2pc cash incentive on remittance to continue

Ibrahim Hossain Ovi

Expatriate Bangladeshis will continue to enjoy the 2 per cent cash incentive scheme for remittance in the new fiscal year as well.

The government has proposed to continue the facility for the fiscal year 2021-22 to encourage expatriate Bangladeshis to send money through legal channels.

“As of April, remittance inflow registered an increase by 40.1 per cent to $22.75 billion. This has been possible mainly due to the continuation of cash incentives at the rate of 2 per cent on expatriate income announced by the prime minister and the simplification of the process of channelling remittances,” Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal said while placing a proposed budget of Tk 603,681 crore for FY22 in parliament on Thursday.

The growth has brought relief, especially during the Covid-19 pandemic when we are going through uncertainty over the growth of exports due to the global economic downturn, he said.

“Considering the ground reality, I propose to continue the cash incentive at the rate of 2 per cent in the next fiscal year as well,” he said.

Apart from it, special 'package programmes' will be initiated by concerned banks to increase the flow of remittances through the banking channel, the minister added.