Prices of bread, biscuits to increase, cut in fire fighting equipment

The prices of bakery products including breads and biscuits are on the way up, following a proposal to withdraw VAT exemption from them, while the opposite is set to happen in case of fire-fighting equipment.

The hints of the price rise and fall came on Thursday after Finance Minister Abul Maal Abdul Muhith proposed revision of tax, duty and VAT on a number of products while presenting the Tk 3.14 trillion national budget for the 2016-17 fiscal in Parliament.

He has proposed a raise in duty only in case of export on some products and withdrawing VAT exemption from several others.

The minister is banking on VAT as a major source of revenue collection in the next financial year.

Consumers will have to spend more if VAT is added to the current prices of handmade loaf, bun, similar kinds of bread, cake, and biscuit valuing up to Tk 100 per kg.

Also, prices of shoes and slippers made of rubber and plastic priced up to Tk 120 per pair will also go up as Muhith has proposed to withdraw their immunity from VAT.

Due to the same reason, the prices of locally manufactured hard board, electric generator, and motorcycle, fabrics woven by power loom will also rise.

The VAT will also be imposed on travel agents and meditation services and classified advertisement, except condolence messages, increasing their prices.

In order to give incentive to the textile sub-sector, the minister also proposed to withdraw VAT from dyeing, printing, finishing and calendaring of grey fabrics.

His proposal to increase import duties on various diagnostic equipment is also signalling a rise in medical expenses.

These goods may soon get cheaper as proposed duty cuts may reduce their import costs:

>> Ingredients for manufacturing dairy products, coffee mate

>> Talcum powder, petroleum jelly

>> Mobile-phone SIM cards, scratch cards and credit cards

>> Grease, Dioctyl orthophthalates (DOP)

>> Fibre glass used by electric fan makers

>> Self-adhesive plates, sheet, film, foil, tape, strip (with width not exceeding 20 cm)

>> Laboratory refrigerators for pharmaceutical industries

>> Mortuary imported by hospitals

>> LED lamp parts

>> Re-seal tape for sanitary napkins

>> Capital machinery for cutting apparels

>> Fire extinguishers for export-oriented businesses

>> Pre-fabricated building materials, raw rubber

>> Machines for manufacturing motorcycles locally, inputs for biogas plants

>> Fly ash for cement, gum and LP gas cylinders below 5,000 litres

>> Bituminous coal

These may be costlier as duty is increased or imposed in the proposal for new fiscal:

>> Handmade biris, gul and other tobacco goods

>> Imported rice

>> Imported rapeseed cake/soyacake

>> Imported corn flower

>> Imported children's picture, drawing or colouring books

>> Broken or crushed stones, perfumes

>> Iron, steel, bar and angle

>> Optical fibre cable

>> Imported tools for agriculture

>> Biometric scanner

>> ECG and ultrasound paper, patient monitor and other medical instruments and appliances

>> UPS, IPS, transformer and air cooler