Fix minimum duty on imported consumer goods: Cabinet
The Cabinet Division has directed the National Board of Revenue (NBR) to fix minimum customs duty on all imported consumer goods.
Cabinet Division Secretary Khandaker Anwarul Islam made the remarks today after a cabinet meeting at the Secretariat.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina chaired the meeting virtually from her official residence Ganabhaban, while the ministers joined from the Secretariat.
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Meanwhile, a total of four acts – including Evidence Act, Supreme Court judges' leave, abandoned property and zakat fund management law – were approved in principle at the meeting on Monday.
On Sunday, Secretary Khandaker Anwarul Islam said the government (National Board of Revenue) would issue a statutory regulatory order (SRO) on Monday to cut different types of taxes, including value-added tax, on daily essentials.
Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi, at the time, said that a special taskforce will be formed within the next one or two days to check manipulation in essential commodity markets.
"The government would provide essential items – onion, edible oil, lentil, sugar, dates and chickpeas – at subsidised prices to one crore people across the country and 15 lakh in Dhaka City during the month of Ramadan," the minister added.
On soaring prices of daily essentials, Tipu Munshi said it was true that the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war had a bad impact on commodity imports. "However, we are trying to check the price hikes.
