The Bangladesh Trade and Tariff Commission has recommended cutting the duties and taxes on imported fresh fruit, including apples, oranges, grapes, pears and pineapples. On 17 February the commission wrote to the National Board of Revenue (NBR) recommending a lower tax burden on fruit, and a copy of the letter has reached Jago News.

In the letter, the commission says the rise in the dollar's value and increases in duties and taxes have pushed up the price of imported fresh fruit, putting unbearable pressure on consumers.

The NBR recently raised the supplementary duty on fresh fruit imports from 20 to 30 per cent, and the tariff commission has now proposed returning it to the previous level. It has also recommended cutting the advance tax on fresh fruit imports from 10 per cent to 2 per cent and rationalising the 20 per cent regulatory duty.

Asked about it, Sirajul Islam, president of the Bangladesh Fresh Fruits Importers Association, told Jago News that fruit had gone beyond people's purchasing power, which is why the tariff commission had made the proposal. "We will also sit with the NBR with the same demand," he said.

In the letter, the tariff commission says fresh fruit imports have fallen because of the dollar's price and the higher tax burden. In the 2023-24 fiscal year, apple imports fell by 51 per cent, malta by 70 per cent and grapes by 29 per cent compared with the previous year. And after the supplementary duty was raised, imports last January fell compared with the same period a year earlier by 51 per cent for mandarins, 21 per cent for grapes, 3.5 per cent for apples, 45 per cent for pears and 32 per cent for pomegranates and dragon fruit. At present, importing fruit worth Tk 86 requires paying Tk 120 in tax.

The commission says that if the decline in fresh fruit imports continues because of high duties and taxes, it will not only harm consumers but also risks reducing revenue collection in future. Since fresh fruit undergoes little processing (value addition) after import, imposing advance tax (local-level advance VAT of 5 per cent) is not appropriate. It forces traders to apply for refunds, causing delays in approval and financial pressure. This advance tax (local-level advance VAT of 5 per cent) on fruit as a food item at the import stage could be waived, the commission says.

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