Bangladesh halves gold import facility, doubles tariff

A passenger will only be allowed to carry 117 gm of gold and will be charged double the duty

Staff Correspondentbdnews24.com
Published : 1 June 2023, 01:04 PM
Updated : 1 June 2023, 01:04 PM

Bangladesh is halving the amount of gold that can be imported by passengers and is doubling the duty they will have to pay for doing so.

The decision was announced as part of the budget for the 2023-24 fiscal year presented in parliament by Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal on Thursday.

“A passenger is [currently] allowed to import gold bars or gold pieces weighing 234 grams on arrival from abroad subject to payment of all duties and taxes. The said benefit can be reduced to a certain extent and provision can be made to import gold bars or gold pieces weighing 117 grams subject to payment of all duties and taxes,” he said.

“For this purpose, necessary amendments have been brought to the existing baggage rules.”

Any amount of gold above the specified weight carried in by a passenger will be seized, he said.

“Any quantity of gold bars or gold pieces or silver bars or silver pieces in excess of the stipulated amount, or any quantity of gold bars or gold pieces or silver bars or silver pieces brought in concealed condition, shall be liable to confiscation in accordance with the Customs Act, 1969.”

Under the current baggage rules, gold bars or pieces can be imported by a passenger subject to a total duty of Tk 2,000 for every 11.664 gm of gold.

“In the budget for the next financial year 2023-24, the amount of this duty tax has been made to pay a total of Tk 4,000 for every 11.664 grams of gold,” the finance minister said.