Entertainment Report :
Information and Broadcasting Ministry published new policies on their website recently stating that without the government’s permission, shooting in foreign countries will be prohibited from now on. According to the policies, participation of foreign actors, crew members, and music experts in advertisements (2021), as well as usage of foreign shooting equipment by any Bangladeshi cast and crew members must be approved by the government of Bangladesh.
One committee will verify, decide and recommend the need for shooting abroad, along with the financial capability to conduct the shoot, before approval. The Additional Secretary of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (Administration & Film), will be the Chairman of the committee. The Joint Secretary (Film), a representative from the Public Safety department, Director General of BFDC, a representative of the National Revenue Board, and the President of Bangladesh Film Producer’s Association will be the members of the committee among others. The Deputy Secretary (Film-1) will also be present as a member secretary of the committee. The policy also states that if any foreign artistes want to work on a project in Bangladesh, they have to take permission from the government beforehand.
There are multiple guidelines on foreign artiste’s participation in any project.
If any foreigner works on an advertisement, the remuneration has to be Tk2 lakh per artiste, excluding VAT and income tax. If the advertisement runs on any TV channel, they must pay the channel a one-time fee of Tk 20,000, for every advertisement. Foreign artistes cannot be in a contractual project without any remuneration policy. The remuneration amount and payment procedure must be included in the contract. For foreign artistes, their remuneration must be according to state law, abiding by the income tax and VAT policies.
