BARVIDA demands duty cut on microbus, eco-friendly cars

The Bangladesh Reconditioned Vehicles Importers and Dealers Association (BARVIDA) has demanded a supplementary duty (SD) cut on the imports of microbuses, hybrid cars — as well as a complete remission of SD on electric cars.

At a press briefing in the capital on Tuesday, leaders of the association expressed their frustration about seeing no reflection of their requests in the proposed budget. Moreover, their proposal has been opposed by imposing carbon tax on individuals having more than one car. 

BARVIDA President Habib Ullah Dawn said that microbuses having 10 to 15 seats are used as public transports in Bangladesh. 

He thinks that the government should reduce the SD on these vehicles so that these vehicles can boost economic activities and add more value than the government's lost revenue.

"During the ongoing energy crisis, hybrid and electric cars could offer a great relief to the nation. Regrettably, our request to reduce the SD on hybrid cars had been ignored," he lamented. 

Noting that many countries in the world have been incentivising and subsidising the purchase of electric cars, he suggested that the government should completely eliminate the SD on electric vehicles.

The association also protested against the proposal to impose carbon tax on owners of multiple cars.

"We import modern environmentally-friendly cars that do not cause pollution and that's why imposing carbon tax on the owners is not fair," stated Dawn.

Duties and taxes on car imports have long been abnormally high in Bangladesh, especially for the cars having bigger engines. Sport Utility Vehicles (SUV) were being used to drive to the fast growing factories across the country and these vehicles were subject to high duties. In this connection, Dawn opined that this excessive duty needs to be decreased.