The government has approved a proposal to cut duties and taxes on imports of green chillies and tomatoes, two everyday essentials. The concession will be given for a set period to ensure food security, keep prices of essentials stable and protect ordinary consumers' purchasing power.

The Internal Resources Division's proposal was approved at a cabinet meeting at the Secretariat on 17 August, chaired by Prime Minister Tarique Rahman. The Cabinet Division announced the decision in a press release after the meeting.

Under the proposal, the total tax on imports of green chillies and tomatoes, now 61 percent, will be cut to 20.5 percent for the first month after the notification is issued and set at 31 percent for the following month.

The Cabinet Division said green chillies and tomatoes are widely used essential farm products. Seasonal production, natural disasters, bad weather, supply disruptions and production shortfalls push their market prices abnormally high at times, putting extra financial pressure on ordinary consumers.

The duty exemption on imports has been proposed for a set period, in the public interest, to ensure an uninterrupted supply of these products and keep their prices at a tolerable level.

Source: Jagonews24. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.