Staff Correspondent
The country’s small and medium enterprises in a pre-budget discussion on Sunday suggested setting up an economic crisis mitigation fund to help them grow.
The growth of the country’s SMEs has slowed down in the last few years, an expert of the Central for Policy Dialogue told the discussion at the National Board of Revenue.
‘To overcome the slow growth rate amid the global economic meltdown a crisis mitigation fund is urgent,’ said CPD official Golam Moyezzem.
The SMEs also demanded withdrawal of duties on import of their raw materials and capital machinery.
They urged the revenue board to raise the ceiling of turnover tax, abolish the pre-shipment inspection system, and bring changes in the definition of SMEs.
Revenue board chairman Abdul Mazid agreed that there should be a common definition about the SMEs.
Different government agencies including the revenue board and the Bangladesh Bank use different definitions.
‘I will raise the issue in the board meeting of the central bank’ he said.
On the other demands by the SMEs, Mazid said the country needed coordinated efforts of stakeholders for betterment of the sectors.
‘Political commitments are also needed,’ he said, adding that economic development and changes could not come overnight.
Members and officials of the country’s light engineering sector, foundry association, timber merchant association, and Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industries participated in the discussion.
Timber merchant association demanded zero duty for the import of wood to save the forest. It said zero import duty would help the growing furniture industry become further competitive on the export market.
An official of a local blade industry urged the revenue board for specific duty instead of applying existing duty for import of raw materials as it would help the blade manufactures tap huge export market in Africa.
Duty on foundry raw materials should be lowered so that the local entrepreneurs could be more competitive against the manufactures of neighbour countries, said one discussant.
An FBCCI member said the revenue board should also take measures to curb corruption by the foreign entrepreneurs in the country’s export procession zones.
He said there was widespread corruption in the EPZs by foreign entrepreneurs in collaboration of the local entrepreneurs.
Courtesy: newagebd.com
