A file photo shows a goods-laden container being stacked onto other containers at the Chattogram port. Customs duty collection by the National Board of Revenue fell short by Tk 13,031 crore or 29 per cent of the target in the first half of the fiscal year 2019-2020 mainly due to higher duty exemption availed by local manufacturers and decline in import of 20 major products. — New Age photo
Customs duty collection by the National Board of Revenue fell short by Tk 13,031 crore or 29 per cent of the target in the first half of the fiscal year 2019-2020 mainly due to higher duty exemption availed by local manufacturers and decline in import of 20 major products.
Import of major items such as motor cycles, goods carrying vehicles and mobile sets dropped in the period as both local production and assembling of the items increased in the country following duty benefits offered by the government, officials of the revenue board said.
They said that import under the duty exemption schemes also went up due to progress in implementation of mega projects such as Padma Bridge and metro rail projects as well as rise in investment in specialised areas, including the economic zones, in the country.
Customs duty wing of the revenue board managed to collect Tk 31,565 crore in the July-December of FY20 against the target of Tk 44,598 crore for the period, according to the provisional data of the NBR.
Revenue mobilisation in the form of customs duty and other taxes related to international trade, however, increased by 2.42 per cent in the first six months of FY20 compared with that in the same period of FY19 when the NBR collected Tk 32,312 crore, the data showed.
Businesses availed duty exemption worth Tk 22,328 crore in July‑December of the current fiscal year, up by Tk 2,333 crore, compared to Tk 19,995 crore availed in the same period of the last fiscal year.
The amount of exemption increased as import of goods under the general and special duty exemption schemes for the mega projects, capital machinery, raw materials, defence stores and other sectors went up significantly, according to an analysis of the NBR’s customs wing.
Import of goods under the special duty exemption schemes for the mega projects such as Padma Bridge, metro rail, Karnaphuli tunnel and Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant projects in creased as the implementation progress of the projects picked up pace in the period, it said.
Although investment in the economic zones, export processing zones and hi-tech parks increased in the period, investment in general did not increase outside the special areas during this time, it added.
Customs duty collection saw a deficit in the period as import under zero‑duty rate also increased while import of higher revenue generating 20 large products, including motor vehicles, high speed diesel, crude soya bean oil and mobile sets declined sharply in the period.
The NBR received Tk 4,968 crore less in revenues in the period due to rise in zero-duty import and decline in major revenue generating products, it said.
Revenue collection declined by 62 per cent or Tk 2,862 crore following a rise in import of products having zero duty.
On the other hand, duty collection dropped by 39 per cent or Tk 2,106 crore in the period due to decline in import of major products.
The NBR received only Tk 3,276 crore from the import of the 20 major products in July-December of FY20 against Tk 5,382 crore in the corresponding period of FY19.
Duty collection from import of motorcycle dropped by Tk 455 crore, that of goods vehicle by Tk 306 crore, high speed diesel by Tk 307 crore, crude soya bean oil by Tk 129 crore, base oil by Tk 128 crore, line pile of stainless steel by Tk 97 crore and mobile set by Tk 79 crore in the period.
Officials said that the import of motorcycles, goods vehicles and mobile sets declined in the period as production of motorcycles and assembling of goods vehicles and mobile sets had risen in the country following duty benefits offered by the government.
Import of high-speed diesel declined as power plants are now using duty-free liquefied natural gas and furnace oil in the production of electricity, they said.
Import of crude soya bean oil also dropped by 1,17,880 tonnes or 29 per cent from that in the same period of the previous year as private vegetable refiners imported higher amount of the product last year on information of possible duty hike on its import in the current fiscal year.