Plastic makers demand tax cut for better competitiveness

Plastic product manufacturers have demanded withdrawal of 7% advance income tax on sales to any company, claiming that the policy support, if provided, would make them better competitive in the local market.

The manufacturers at a press conference in Dhaka on Thursday said they have to pay 35% income tax on production, and another 7% advance income tax if they sell the items to a company – ultimately resulting in higher product prices. Therefore, more and more plastic product-using companies such as drugmakers are building their own production units.           

The makers under the banner of the Bangladesh Plastic Goods Manufacturers & Exporters Association also put forward a number of proposals ahead of the national budget for the 2022-23 fiscal year.            

The manufacturers proposed reducing the import duty on raw materials to 1%-3% that is now 5%.

They said there are more than 5,030 small, medium and large plastic industries in Bangladesh, as the annual domestic production and sales amount to around Tk35,000 crore. The government gets Tk3,500 crore revenue from the sector that is thriving as new generation entrepreneurs are coming forward. The annual export is around $1 billion, as the sector logs a 20% growth.   

The manufacturers said local production of plastic spray head, dispenser head, mist sprayer, spray gun, trigger spray, hand pump and agriculture spray has exceeded the demand. Therefore, the supplementary duty on import of the items was sought to be raised to 50% from current 3% for the sake of the local producers.

The manufacturers proposed to withdraw the recently slapped 5% supplementary duty on all types of plastic bags (including woven ones) and wrappers made of polyethylene.

They also demanded withdrawal of 15% value added tax on plastic toy exports.