Dr. Zafrullah Chowdhury :
Thanks for the decision to reduce tax from 25% to 5% (now fixed) on blood tubing being used for very patient in hemodialysis. Expensive treatment of dysfunctional kidney patient lost his/her last penny within three years. So a poor kidney patient would be given taka 1000 subsidy for every hemodialysis. At present the government has been giving subsidy taka 2200 to every patient for every dialysis to an Indian company (Sandor) for long five years. Kidney transplantation is the best treatment for a dysfunctional kidney patient. Every year the country need 1oooo kidney plantation. But in the country kidney transplantation are made of not above 200 patients. Most of the patient go to India, Srilanka, Singapore, America accompanied with one or more attendance where they spent nearly 1000 crore. Ministry of Health & Family Planning is responsible for it. They are not caring out the order of the High Court. High Court has given a universal verdict that anybody could donate kidney to any person other than relatives and friends. It is not right decision to fixed tax as reducing it from 5% to 1% on equipment of Foara (84242030). Practically it was to be minimum 10%.
iii) The devil would not listen to the Scriptures: Price of medicines will not be reduced.
It is a good decision that almost all local manufacturers of active pharmaceutical ingredient will get rebate facilities. It will more helpful in producing API in the country. But there should be a mandatory rule to follow that all pharmaceutical industries should purchase raw materials from local API industry. It is also necessary to give 25% cash incentive for next five years on their exported goods so that their companies can build capacity to compete with Indian and Chains producers. The statistics/data isnot correct that Bangladesh export API to 92 countries including USA and UK (Ref. Budget speech page 84). Bangladesh export medicine not raw material of medicine. With noble cause rebate benefit is given to some medicine of cancer and cardiac disease. This will benefit the producers, but the price of medicine will not reduce. Consequently the good objective of the government will fail. To bring price of medicine within the reach of the capacity of the people, it is necessary to implement perfectly the National Drug Administration Policy Ordinance of 1982. Presently other than 117 medicine, vaccine and family planning apparatus, the price of all medicines are fixed by the producer company itself and inform it to the Drug Administration Directorate. Adding only VAT Drug Administration declare price of the medicine. This system is known as Indicative Price System. If the National Drug Administration Policy is implemented properly the maximum retail price will be reduced at least 50%.
3. Rebate benefit on ingredients of poultry, dairy and fish feed to increase nutrition for the people of the country is a good job.
Proper implementation of the National Drug Policy of 1982 will reduce the retail price of drugs by at least 50%.Decide, in whose interest is your budget (2021-22) prepared?
Didn’t your profession and class character stand in the way of making the right decision?
3. Your other good deed is to provide incentives to all the poultry, dairy and fish feed required for the nutrition of the people.
IV. Set a tariff instead of three tariffs, corruption will be reduced-
1.SRO has reduced tariffs on many raw materials used in various industries through 114/2021.You have made a big mistake here, 0% in some cases, 5% in most cases, 15% in some cases, there will be problems, there will be corruption. Set a tariff rate instead of three (0%, 5%, and 15%).
2. All imported food is also perishable, sugary confectionery, except for soap; you have to pay a duty rate. You have fixed the duty on soap at 25% and on confectionery at 60%.200% including perfume soap, foreign confectionery duty and supplements. These are made in the country, import is just an unnecessary luxury.200% duty and supplementary tax should be levied on imported tiles, marble, foreign liquor and cigarettes.
3. The import duty on some products has been increased from 3% instead of the regulatory duty of 3% on medicines and other items mentioned on page 8 of Bangladesh Customs.
In all cases the rate should be 10%, 15%, 20% for all instead of 20%.As a result, harassment will be reduced and corruption will be eliminated. Try to avoid your career interests and class character.
4. He has made the middle class happy by withdrawing the duty on the import of mopeds and ambulances.
However, in these cases, instead of multiple tariffs (0%, 20%, 30%, 45%) will create corruption, so in all cases, set a rate of 20% or 25%.Reduce duty on import of 2000/3500 cc air-conditioned ambulance with all necessary medical equipment and fix 20%.
5. As there are multiple concessional duties of 0%, 5%, 10%, 15% etc. mentioned in (Bangladesh Customs, page-11) SRO 114/2021 of the raw material of the industry, there is an opportunity for harassment, corruption and bureaucratic long formulation and bargaining of C&F agents with the officers while unloading the consignment. The simplest solution is to pay a tariff of 5% or 10%.
6. Free all types of advance income tax, duty supplement and all other taxes on the oxygen cylinder with flow meter and make it easy for mass import.
V. Increase in monthly allowance of freedom fighters
You and the Liberation War Minister have taken place in their hearts by increasing the monthly allowance of more than one lakh freedom fighters from Tk 12,000 to Tk20, 000. However, the unfortunate thing is that when the freedom fighters see that the poor family in the house next to theirs has lost their jobs due to corona virus, they are starving almost one day of the week, will the freedom fighters be able to take food? Corona has added 20 million new poor families to the old 20 million poor families.
VI. Pay attention to the farmers
He has set aside Tk. 25 crore for one lakh farmers affected by the Kalbaishakhi storm. Make up your mind. Allocate Tk 250 crore to at least 5 lakh affected farmers.
Allocate Tk 100 crore for conservation of almost extinct plants, coffee, almonds, turmeric, ginger, incentives for cultivation in hilly areas. He has proposed 10 years tax-free benefits to the industry producing baby food and agricultural machinery from domestic production. However, there is no mention of any move to break the syndicate by creating cooperatives for direct irrigation, fertilizer and seeds, agricultural production and marketing. Long live the class character.
(Dr. Zafrullah Chowdhury is Trustee Gonoshasthaya Kendra).
(To be continued)
