Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal today proposed continuation of one percent additional cash incentive for the country's garment export in 2021-22 fiscal year too, considering the economic fallout from Covid-19 pandemic.

The government introduced 1 percent additional cash subsidy on garment export in the beginning of the 2019-20 fiscal year.

The incentive means the garment exporters have been enjoying five percent cash incentive for all non-traditional export markets. Bangladesh considers all the markets as non-traditional markets except the EU, the US and Canada.

The garment exporters have been enjoying 4 percent cash incentive on their export receipts to the non-traditional markets since fiscal 2008-09 which was mainly introduced to offset the losses of global economic meltdown of 2007 and 2008.

The current additional 1 percent cash incentive is applicable for all the traditional and non-traditional markets.  

Overall, for all markets, the garment exporters have been enjoying 1 percent cash incentive on their export receipts in a year. Minister Kamal proposed to continue this subsidy also in the fiscal 2021-22.

Also the minister did not reduce the source tax although the garment exporters were demanding to make the source tax to 0.25 percent from 0.5 percent.