As part of its pre-Budget proposals submitted by the Bangladesh Textile Mills Association (BTMA) to the National Board of Revenue (NBR), the BTMA has requested the Government to continue tax holiday for new textile and apparel industries that will be set up in Dhaka, Gazipur, Narayanganj, Tongi, Mymensingh and Narsingdi until 2018.
Placing their 10-point demand before the NBR, the country’s apex textile mills association said the Government should cut income tax from the existing 15 percent to 10 percent to attract more investment and to generate more employment in the sector. BTMA also sought tax holiday for spinning, weaving, dyeing, printing and finishing units. It also appealed for providing a 10 percent cash incentive for dyeing, printing and finishing industries to make the country’s textile sector more competitive. The textile body also urged the NBR to remove the tax at source currently being collected by the NBR at 0.8 percent on bill payment against supply under local letters of credit (L/Cs).
To boost up the backward linkage industry, BTMA representatives suggested that the Government should increase the cash incentive given to the export-oriented textile sector from the current 5 percent to 15 percent. The textile association demanded setting up a ‘textile upgradation fund’ for spinning and weaving sub-sectors, and allocation of resources from the said fund to attract more investment in the sector. The textile entrepreneurs also sought removal of customs duty and other taxes on import of spare parts, machinery and raw materials such as artificial filament tow and polyethylene terephthalate chips.
