Al Amin :
The National Board of Revenue (NBR) has withdrawn Advance Tax (AT) from imported unrefined soybean and palm oil to keep the market stable during the upcoming Ramadan.
The prices of key cooking ingredient have been increased sharply in the local market as the price has increased by 50 to 60 per cent in the international market since May in 2020.
In this situation, the four per cent AT has been waived to keep the prices of the essential commodity affordable to the consumers ahead of the holy month of Ramadan.
The VAT policy wing of the NBR issued a Statutory Regulatory Order (SRO) on Sunday in this regard. The facility will get only the VAT registered companies. The NBR has taken such a decision as part of the government’s initiative to control the prices of essential commodities ahead of the Ramzan.
NBR officials said the decision will have a positive impact on the edible oil price and hopefully, the price will decline in the markets.
But Biswajit Saha, Director of City Group, told The New Nation, “The withdrawal of AT will not put impact on the edible oil price as it is globally high.”
“Currently, the cost of imported unrefined edible oil is $1240-60 per tonne. So, there is no possibility of reduction of the price. We will hold meeting with the Commerce Ministry soon for the next course of action,” he said.
Mohammad Mustafa Haider, Director of TK Group, said, “The waver of AT will help free our working capital to keep active our business amid the crisis moment.”
“But the decision will not bring any variation of the edible oil price, unless it declines in the international markets,” he added.
The cost of soybean oil reached maximum Tk 160 a litre in the domestic markets because many companies started supplying quarter-litre bottle at Tk 40. Now the price of one-litre soybean jar is Tk 137-139 and half-litre Tk 70-72.
The price of palm oil, the key edible oil for commoners, shot up to Tk 110-Tk 116 a litre while loose soybean oil to Tk 126-130 a litre in recent times.
The TCB data showed that edible oil was 30-46 per cent pricier than that of a year ago.
Earlier in the last February, the Commerce Ministry fixed the price of edible oil considering the interest of the refiners and consumers of the country followed by holding several meetings with the stakeholders.
The Commerce Ministry has also requested the NBR to fix a reasonable rate of tax and VAT on imports unrefined soybean and palm oil.
Every year during the month of Ramadan, the prices of the daily necessities, especially edible oil rise very high making the lower and middle-income group of people miserable.
Golam Mowla, President of the Edible Oil Importers Association, said that sometimes the retailers are charging high due to the lack of strong monitoring.
The Commerce Ministry can fix the retail price and bring them under accountability by introducing memo system to control price hike, he said.
