Barvida seeks port rental waiver until Dec
Reconditioned vehicle businesses have sought waiver on port rent charges until December from the government for the vehicles they brought in through Mongla and Chattogram ports.
They also demanded a halt in the car auction process until December, which the customs authorities organise in ports.
Bangladesh Reconditioned Vehicles Importers and Dealers Association (Barvida) made the call at a time when import and marketing of vehicles have come to a close because of the Covid-19 outbreak.
Barvida is a big source of revenue for the government and they pay thousands of crores of taka a year to the government exchequer as tax, the association said in a statement yesterday.
The members of the platform now fear massive losses, as their imported vehicles have got stuck in ports due to the government's restriction on people's movement amid the coronavirus outbreak, it added.
"Covid-19 will leave a huge impact on the economy and it is an unavoidable situation," Mohammed Shahidul Islam, secretary general of Barvida, said in the statement.
"It will be tough for the Barvida members to survive if the situation continues for a long time."
The association has prepared a list of demands, which will soon be sent to Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal, he said.
The platform thanked Bangladesh Bank for introducing a loan instalment facility so that businesses do not become defaulters because of financial losses due to the coronavirus.
However, it demanded extension of the facility until December to help them recover the losses.
The association also wanted interest-free or low-cost loans from the banking regulator based on the annual turnover of the businesses.
Cash incentives should be provided to the reconditioned vehicle businesses, as they are struggling to pay staff salaries at a time when imports have come to a halt, it said.
A recommendation was also placed where the association wanted the utility and all other related bills to be suspended until June so that they can concentrate on other fields to do business and recover the losses.
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