The Bangladesh Automobile Assemblers and Manufacturers Association (BAMA) has demanded special tariff benefits on the import of electric vehicles (EV) till 2030 for the development of the growing EV industry in the country. The organization made this demand in the pre-budget discussion for the fiscal year 2024-25 organized by the National Board of Revenue (NBR) on Tuesday, February 27.
On the same day, the Aviation Operators Association of Bangladesh (AOAB) in their proposal demanded the withdrawal of import tax, customs duty, advance tax and advance income tax levied on aircraft including helicopters, aircraft engines, aircraft parts, aircraft engine parts.
NBR Chairman Abu Hena Md. Rahmatul Munim assured to scrutinize and review the proposals after hearing them.
BAMA said in the proposal, currently the import duty on electric propulsion motorcycles is 37 percent, which is proposed to be reduced to 31 percent. Besides, it has been proposed to reduce the duty of electric vehicles from 89.32 percent to 37 percent, and to reduce the duty of electric buses and trucks from 58.60 percent to 31 percent. Similarly, as there is no HS code in the case of CKD (Compete Knocked Dowd) imports, the demand for setting a separate AS code and making the duty rate 15.25 percent has also been raised in the proposal.
The organization said that electric vehicles are currently more expensive than conventional engine driven cars. Besides, people are still not used to using EVs. If it is possible to market EVs at affordable prices, consumers will be encouraged to use them.
On the other hand, the letter signed by AOAB Secretary General Mofizur Rahman said, “The purchase of helicopter-aircraft and its parts is very expensive and has to be purchased with huge foreign currency.” An advance tax of 5 per cent on expensive components, combined with a tax levied on certain components, makes the overall tax rate over 100 percent.”
Mofizur, MD of NovoAir said, “These taxes are not sustainable for the survival of the country’s fragile aviation sector. All kinds of tariffs need to be withdrawn as the sector is under threat of existence as the operational cost of this sector is exorbitant.”