Apparel manufacturers of the country have urged the government to provide cash incentives and reduce various taxes to recover losses from the recently announced hikes in gas tariffs.
They also recommended fixing system loss issues, stopping illegal gas line connections, as well as meter-reading-related theft.
The government on January 18 hiked gas prices by up to 179% to adjust subsidies and reduce the fiscal deficit. The new rates will be effective from February 1.
Speaking to the media, Anwar Ul Alam Chowdhury (Parvez), president of the Bangladesh Chamber of Industries (BCI), said that the hike should have been kept to a tolerable, around Tk20 per cubic metre should have been enough.
He also said that to ensure the survival of industries, the government should reduce taxes. Corporate tax in various industries should be reduced by at least 5% from the existing rate, and source at tax should be abolished, or at least reduced from 1% to 0.5%.
Moreover, the dollar rate for exporters should be increased from Tk102 to Tk107 per US dollar.
A director of the BTMA said that government should give cash incentives for the next five years so that the industries can sustain themselves and adjust to the new gas rates.
He added that there are different types of taxes, which can be reduced significantly.
BGMEA President Faruque Hassan told the media that they long demanded to stop system losses.
Due to system losses, connection problems, theft through metre reading, and illegal connections, the government is losing a lot of revenue, he added.
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