Duty on rice imports withdrawn

The government has cut regulatory duty on rice to 5 percent from the existing 25 percent and withdrawn all import duties.

The Internal Resources Division of the Ministry of Finance issued a gazette notification in this regard on Sunday.

The new duty structure will be effective immediately and remain effective till the end of this year, the notice said.

The order will be applicable to the import of all types of rice except aromatic rice.

According to the new order, rice imports are now subject to regulatory duty or excise duty of 5 percent, advance income tax of 5 percent and advance tax of 5 percent.

Furthermore, approval from the rank of joint secretary of the food ministry must be taken before importation.

On May 30, Food Minister Sadhan Chandra Majumder said in a discussion meeting at the Ministry of Food that if necessary, the consumer will be kept at ease by importing rice by reducing the tax.

On August 5, a day before the government hiked fuel prices by record levels, the price of coarse rice was Tk 48 per kg, which shot up to Tk 60 on August 28.

According to the Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB) per kg coarse rice is selling at Tk 52 per kg.

Meanwhile, the price of fine rice rose to Tk80 per kg on August 28 from Tk 75 per kg on August 5.