Tariff policy in the making to protect industries, attract investment | The Business Standard
Skip to main content
  • Latest
  • Economy
    • Banking
    • Stocks
    • Industry
    • Analysis
    • Bazaar
    • RMG
    • Corporates
    • Aviation
  • Videos
    • TBS Today
    • TBS Stories
    • TBS World
    • News of the day
    • TBS Programs
    • Podcast
    • Editor's Pick
  • World+Biz
  • Features
    • Panorama
    • The Big Picture
    • Pursuit
    • Habitat
    • Thoughts
    • Splash
    • Mode
    • Tech
    • Explorer
    • Brands
    • In Focus
    • Book Review
    • Earth
    • Food
    • Luxury
    • Wheels
  • Subscribe
    • Get the Paper
    • Epaper
    • GOVT. Ad
  • More
    • Sports
    • TBS Graduates
    • Bangladesh
    • Supplement
    • Infograph
    • Archive
    • Gallery
    • Long Read
    • Interviews
    • Offbeat
    • Magazine
    • Climate Change
    • Health
    • Cartoons
  • বাংলা
The Business Standard

Thursday
July 17, 2025

Sign In
Subscribe
  • Latest
  • Economy
    • Banking
    • Stocks
    • Industry
    • Analysis
    • Bazaar
    • RMG
    • Corporates
    • Aviation
  • Videos
    • TBS Today
    • TBS Stories
    • TBS World
    • News of the day
    • TBS Programs
    • Podcast
    • Editor's Pick
  • World+Biz
  • Features
    • Panorama
    • The Big Picture
    • Pursuit
    • Habitat
    • Thoughts
    • Splash
    • Mode
    • Tech
    • Explorer
    • Brands
    • In Focus
    • Book Review
    • Earth
    • Food
    • Luxury
    • Wheels
  • Subscribe
    • Get the Paper
    • Epaper
    • GOVT. Ad
  • More
    • Sports
    • TBS Graduates
    • Bangladesh
    • Supplement
    • Infograph
    • Archive
    • Gallery
    • Long Read
    • Interviews
    • Offbeat
    • Magazine
    • Climate Change
    • Health
    • Cartoons
  • বাংলা
THURSDAY, JULY 17, 2025
Tariff policy in the making to protect industries, attract investment

Industry

Jasim Uddin & Shawkat Ali
01 July, 2021, 01:30 pm
Last modified: 01 July, 2021, 03:01 pm

Related News

  • US tariff: 3rd round talks to be held on issues under non-disclosure agreement 
  • US wants a framework agreement with Bangladesh that includes their security concerns: Fouzul
  • Dhaka, Washington to continue inter-ministerial dialogue as tariff talks end without full consensus
  • Trump tariff on Brazilian goods could jack up US burger price
  • Trump's Brazil tariff rattles coffee market, could raise prices in US

Tariff policy in the making to protect industries, attract investment

 It will have long-term guidelines for all types of tariff-related policies

Jasim Uddin & Shawkat Ali
01 July, 2021, 01:30 pm
Last modified: 01 July, 2021, 03:01 pm
Photo/Courtesy
Photo/Courtesy

The government is formulating a national tariff policy to protect domestic industries, attract new investment, and make the government's policy support long lasting and business-friendly, sources familiar with the development have said.

The commerce ministry had recently directed the Bangladesh Trade and Tariff Commission (BTTC) to formulate the policy with long-term guidelines for all types of tariff-related policies, the sources said.

A 14-member committee headed by BTTC Chairman Munshi Shahabuddin Ahmed is working on a concept note of the National Tariff Policy of Bangladesh.

The Business Standard Google News Keep updated, follow The Business Standard's Google news channel

The International Finance Corporation (IFC) is providing the commission with technical assistance in this regard.

Bangladesh has two types of tariffs – tariff duty and tariff price.

Tariff duty is imposed to protect selective local industries and is withdrawn to provide comfort to consumers for a certain period, and the tariff price is fixed for imported goods to make a balance in the rates of products.

The National Board of Revenue (NBR) is the implementing agency of tariffs.

Members of the committee said all countries in the world including India, Pakistan and Vietnam have their own national tariff policies.

BTTC Chairman Munshi Shahabuddin Ahmed told The Business Standard, "Tariff commissions set tariff policies in all countries. Bangladesh was an exception, as there was no national tariff policy. That is why the work of making the policy has started."

Every year during the budget, tariffs change according to the type and importance of different sectors. Because of these changes, investors are often hesitant to make decisions.

Long-term policy support will be provided in the tariff to alleviate the hesitation of the investors and to make it easier for them to calculate the return on investment. These issues are being emphasised in the concept note of the tariff policy.

People concerned said there are plans to provide similar tariff support for a period of five years or more to encourage private sector investments. If the policy can be formulated in this way with the stakeholders of different sectors, it will be able to make a sector grow faster. A tariff structure with a longer period of time will also increase the amount of investment.

Ali Ahmad, the immediate past chief operating officer of the Bangladesh Foreign Trade Institute (BFTI), said, "Protection for any industries helps boost domestic industrialisation, GDP growth and revenue realisations."

The NBR has been maintaining a tariff duty structure, but it was distorted by the various types of duty like development charge or surcharge responding to business community's demands.

The revenue authority has to impose those types of additional duty to fulfil its revenue targets, said its former member Ali Ahmad, adding that "customs duty should not be the target of revenue realisations instead of using it as industry protection measures."

The tariff duty rates should be fixed considering the potentials of industries and not in response to the demand by business groups.

The Trade and Tariff Commission has to carry out field level study on every sector to understand its potentials, and it should continue such surveys round the year, he added.

"We are working to prepare a framework to develop a policy, which will help create a better ecosystem for all industries," said Dr Mostafa Abid Khan, who is also a member of the concept note formulating committee.

"We aim to develop a policy framework by December, through consultation with stakeholders. Then it will be reviewed by different studies and the outcomes will be accommodated in the policy."

The absence of a holistic policy, every year the authorities have to change tariff rules based on the demand of a group, while it might put pressure on other groups of the same industry or its backward or forward industry,  added Abid Khan, also an immediate past member of the BTTC.

"The tariff policy will help realise more revenue and provide protection to the domestic industries," he said adding it will help boost industries efficiency, which will help them to face the challenges in a competitive market.

Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI) President Rizwan Rahman said the government is going to formulate a policy, but "we are still in the dark". 

He suggested a tariff policy should be formulated in consultations with all chambers and trade bodies to make this move effective. 

The Business Initiative Leading Development (BUILD) Chairman Abul Kasem Khan said this policy must be sustainable with maintaining consistency, otherwise it would be similar to other policies.

A long term forecasting policy can encourage investors from home and abroad to invest more, he added.

This policy will be more investment and business friendly, hoped Kasen khan, also a former president of DCCI.

Economy / Top News

tarrif / Tariff commission / tariff / industry

Comments

While most comments will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive, moderation decisions are subjective. Published comments are readers’ own views and The Business Standard does not endorse any of the readers’ comments.

Top Stories

  • National Citizen Party (NCP) Convenor Nahid Islam speaks at a press conference in Khulna on 16 July 2025. Photo: TBS
    Gopalganj attack: Nahid demands arrest of culprits within 24 hours
  • Photo: TBS
    Gopalganj under heavy security as tension persists amid curfew
  • The supporters of local Awami League and Chhatra League locked in a clash with police following attacks on NCP convoy this afternoon (16 July). Photo: Collected
    Gopalganj under curfew tonight; 4 killed as banned AL, police clash after attack on NCP leaders

MOST VIEWED

  • 131 foreigners were denied entry into Malaysia by their border control. Photo: The Star
    96 Bangladeshis denied entry at Kuala Lumpur airport
  • Double-decker school buses are lined up in a field in Chattogram city. The district administration has proposed modernising the buses to ensure security and convenience for school students. Photo: TBS
    Country's first smart school bus in Ctg faces shutdown amid funding crisis
  • A file photo of people boarding the government-run Betna Express at a railway station. The train operates on the Benapole-Khulna-Mongla route via Jashore. Photo: TBS
    Despite profitability, Betna Express rail service handed over to pvt sector
  • Bangladesh Bank buys $313m more in second dollar auction in three days
    Bangladesh Bank buys $313m more in second dollar auction in three days
  • Representational image. File Photo: Syed Zakir Hossain/TBS
    Malaysia grants Bangladeshi workers multiple-entry visas
  • People enter and loot Ganobhaban, the Prime Minister’s residence, following the resignation of Sheikh Hasina in Dhaka, Bangladesh, on August 5, 2024. Photo: TBS
    Govt to spend Tk111cr to turn Ganabhaban into July Mass Uprising Memorial Museum

Related News

  • US tariff: 3rd round talks to be held on issues under non-disclosure agreement 
  • US wants a framework agreement with Bangladesh that includes their security concerns: Fouzul
  • Dhaka, Washington to continue inter-ministerial dialogue as tariff talks end without full consensus
  • Trump tariff on Brazilian goods could jack up US burger price
  • Trump's Brazil tariff rattles coffee market, could raise prices in US

Features

Abu Sayeed spread his hands as police fired rubber bullets, leading to his tragic death. Photos: Collected

How Abu Sayed’s wings of freedom ignited the fire of July uprising

1d | Panorama
Illustration: TBS

Open source legal advice: How Facebook groups are empowering victims of land disputes

2d | Panorama
DU students at TSC around 12:45am on 15 July 2024, protesting Sheikh Hasina’s insulting remark. Photo: TBS

‘Razakar’: The butterfly effect of a word

2d | Panorama
Photo: Collected

Grooming gadgets: Where sleek tools meet effortless styles

3d | Brands

More Videos from TBS

NCP leaders safely in Khulna from Gopalganj.

NCP leaders safely in Khulna from Gopalganj.

6h | TBS Today
July 16 returns with sadness and pain

July 16 returns with sadness and pain

6h | TBS Today
China's economy not hit by Trump's tariff war

China's economy not hit by Trump's tariff war

8h | Others
News of The Day, 16 JULY 2025

News of The Day, 16 JULY 2025

9h | TBS News of the day
EMAIL US
contact@tbsnews.net
FOLLOW US
WHATSAPP
+880 1847416158
The Business Standard
  • About Us
  • Contact us
  • Sitemap
  • Advertisement
  • Privacy Policy
  • Comment Policy
Copyright © 2025
The Business Standard All rights reserved
Technical Partner: RSI Lab

Contact Us

The Business Standard

Main Office -4/A, Eskaton Garden, Dhaka- 1000

Phone: +8801847 416158 - 59

Send Opinion articles to - oped.tbs@gmail.com

For advertisement- sales@tbsnews.net