Rice import duty cut to 25.75% till Oct
The revenue authority has slashed import tariffs on rice until October 30 this year to facilitate private purchases from international sources and contain prices of the staple food in the domestic market.
Total import duty and tax was reduced to 25.75 per cent from 62.5 per cent, according to a notification from the National Board of Revenue (NBR) yesterday.
The entities who want to import the staple will have to take prior approval from a joint secretary ranked official of the food ministry for every consignment.
Last month, the food ministry had recommended the revenue authority to cut the duty.
The ministry has urged the NBR to slash the import tariff to allow private businesses to buy 10 lakh tonnes of grain from abroad and increase the supply in the local market.
The aim is to stabilise the prices as they are well above the international rates.
In July, the average price of the coarse grain of Boro harvest was Tk 44 per kilogram (kg), which would be 38 per cent higher than the price of the grain imported from India.
The price edged up 4 per cent in July from Tk 42 a kg in June, according to data from the Department of Agricultural Marketing.
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