The garment manufacturers have demanded that the tax at source applicable against garment exports be reduced from 1 percent to 0.5 percent as before.
Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), the leading association of export-oriented garment industry owners, recently appealed to the National Board of Revenue (NBR).
The organization says that due to the global context, the garment industry is currently going through a period of crisis. Therefore, it is necessary to fix the tax at source at 0.5 percent and implement it for the next 5 years to overcome the crisis. Without such policy support, it will be difficult to sustain the viability of this industry.
BGMEA President Faruque Hassan mentioned in the letter to NBR that keeping the 0.5 percent source tax effective for the next 5 years will help the industry to maintain its export capacity. If the industry survives, revenue will increase, new jobs will be created. If exports can be increased by increasing competitiveness, it is possible to increase revenue without raising tax rates.
The tax at source on the apparel sector has been increased to 1% from the previous 0.5% in the current fiscal year.
