Textile millers has demanded the National Board of Revenue continue tax holiday facility for five more years for the textile industries to be set up in Dhaka, Gazipur,
Tongi, Narayanganj, Narshingdi and Mymensingh areas.
Currently, factories in Dhaka, Tongi and Gazipur are not entitled to enjoy tax holiday facilities while general tax holiday facility for the textile industries will expire in June, 2013.
‘Most of the entrepreneurs are interested to set up their plants in the areas because of improved infrastructure and availability of other utilities,’ Bangladesh Textile Mills Association vice-president Abdul Mannan Miah told New Age on Saturday.
The BTMA has already submitted to the NBR its budget proposals which include the demand for providing the tax holiday facility for investors who will set up their factories in those areas and extend the facility until 2018, he said.
Otherwise, it will severely affect the textile sector as investors will not come up with new investment, he added.
Leaders of the textile sector will attend a pre-budget discussion with the NBR today (Sunday), he said.
The BTMA, organisation of primary textile industries including yarn manufacturing, fabric manufacturing, dyeing-printing-finishing mills of the country, has also urged the NBR to reduce rate of the income tax to 10 per cent from the existing 15 per cent.
The association also demanded withdrawal of tax at source that the NBR collect at the rate of 0.80 per cent on bill payment against supply of products under local letters of credit.
The apex body of the country’s textile mills also demanded the government provide 10 per cent cash incentive for dying-printing-finishing industries to attract more investment in the sector and make the sector more competitive.
They also recommended the government to increase cash incentive to 15 per cent from the existing 5 per cent given to the export-oriented textile sector as an alternative to duty bonds and duty drawbacks to boost up the backward linkage industry.
The textile millers said that such facilities would help the industry to retain its external market amid tough competition from some neighbouring countries such as China, Pakistan and India which are providing various facilities to their entrepreneurs to grab good position in the world market.
The textile entrepreneurs also demanded creation of ‘textile up gradation fund’ and allocation of resources to
encourage investment in the sector.
The association also demanded withdrawal of customs duty and other taxes on import of machinery, spare parts and raw material such as polyethylene terephthalate chips and artificial filament tow.
-With New Age input
