Bangladesh raises duty on rice to limit imports

The National Board of Revenue, or NBR, has raised the regulatory duty on rice imports to 25 percent from 3 percent while keeping the customs duty unchanged at 25 percent, in keeping with the government’s decision to curb imports.

The revenue board also imposed a 5 percent advance income tax on rice products in a bid to curb import. As a result, the tax incidence for rice import increases to 55 percent (customs duty 25 percent + regulatory duty 25 percent + advance income tax 5 percent).

The tax rates came into effect on Wednesday.

Bangladesh’s private traders imported 303,000 tonnes of rice in the first 10 months of this fiscal year, forcing local farmers to incur “huge losses”.

The new decision will help protect local farmers from future losses, NBR said.