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NBR chief vows to curb import of luxuries

UNB, Dhaka
The new government will press a harsh brake on the brisk import of luxury items in the next budget to give a solid ground for the local producers at a changed time when developed countries are blamed for pursuing a sort of protectionism.
National Board of Revenue (NBR) Chairman Muhammad Abdul Mazid yesterday apprised his business audience of the latest budgeting outlook at a prebudget meeting with the representatives of financial institutions and small and medium business houses in its conference room.
He said the local producers who supply their products to the domestic market “will be treated as export-oriented industries because they substitute for the imports and thus save huge amounts of foreign exchange".
Mazid said budget for the next year would be "pro-people" in tune with policies of the new government.
He noted that budget is not only the account of government spending — it is also the description of
incomes.
“But, in normal way, we think the budget is just the description of expenditure of the government," he said.
Narayan Chandra Nath of Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies (BIDS) said protectionism is going on worldwide currently, induced by the economic crunch.
"Each country in the world is protecting their local industries by imposing various types of duties and other barriers to save their local industries," he said.
In the wake of sensational disclosers on siphoning off money, Monjur Ahmed of the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) opted to have a strong surveillance team to watch the repatriation of profits of the foreign investors.
"Every country, including India, has such a kind of surveillance team to watch the repatriation of the profit money by the foreign investors. But unfortunately, the central bank of the country does not have any,” he told the meet.
Abdul Huq of the FBCCI put emphasis on giving more facilitates to the entrepreneurs rather than facilitatingindividuals.
ASM Ashraful Alam Khan Nabraj of Bangladesh Ghori Baboshayee Samity urged the NBR to reduce the import duty on watch-parts.
He said currently 38 watch-assembling industries are in operation in the country where more than 100,000 people are engaged.
"But the import duties on the spares of watches and the finished watches are same. This obstacle is hindering the flourishing of the watch-assembling industry in the country," he said.
He also demanded waiver of 1.5 percent VAT on whole-sale/retailingand 15 percent VAT on sale.
"This sector might be included under the cottage industry as this sector can give the country a strong economic ground like the RMG sector,” he added.
Iftekhar Ahmed of Bangladesh Insurance Association (BIA) urged the government to separate them from the line of financial institutions like banks.