Government mulling cut on extra excise duty, says State Minister Mannan

The government is considering a cut on duty on savings accounts in banks, State Minister for Finance MA Mannan has said.

His statement comes at a time when the proposal of FY2018 budget announced on Jun 1 was facing sharp criticism from many including trade bodies and economists.

"As a cabinet minister, I promise the matter will be reconsidered before the budget gets a final nod from the prime minister," Mannan said during a general discussion on the budget in parliament on Tuesday.

He further said that the government and the finance minister were not alien to this society, so the issue will be discussed again.

The state minister, however, added that excise duties on bank accounts have been there since 1947. The latest budget only proposes to increase it.

While speaking to the media in Sylhet on Thursday, Finance Minister AMA Muhith reiterated that the proposed excise duty on bank deposits and uniform 15 percent VAT will not be revised.

The budget, which was Muhith’s 11th, proposes to increase excise duty to Tk 800 from Tk 500 on accounts with balance of Tk 100,000 or more.

Bank accounts with balance between Tk 1 million and Tk 10 million will be charged Tk 2,500 instead of Tk 1,500.

Accounts that have deposits between Tk 10 million and Tk 50 million will be charged Tk 12,000 instead of Tk 7,500.

The excise duty on accounts holding over Tk 50 million will be raised to Tk 25,000 from Tk 15,000 now.

Traders, bankers and economists apprehend that the decision might inspire people to opt for illegal mediums of money transactions.

Some MPs and leaders of the opposition have already called on the finance minister to reverse his decision.