Cut duty on paper not made in Bangladesh: FBCCI

The leaders of the paper importers and the printing and packaging sectors today called for reducing import duty on papers that are not manufactured in Bangladesh.

They want the import duty to be cut by 10 percentage points to 5 per cent for the survival of the domestic paper, paper products, printing and packaging sectors.

They made the call in the first meeting of the standing committee on paper, paper products, printing and packaging of the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI), at the FBCCI board room in Dhaka.

Bangladesh is mainly an import dependent country for paper and the local sector players pay around 47 per cent in tax and duty if the total production cost is taken into consideration, they said.

So, the government should now bring down the import duty from the existing 15 per cent to 3 to 5 per cent on papers that are not manufactured locally, the sector leaders said.

They also urged the government to allow import of paper at zero duty, which will be used to produce books of the National Curriculum and Textbook Board.

At the event, the local carton makers said they are incurring losses as there is no specific rule to fix the prices of paper and other raw materials.

The carton makers pay 5 per cent advance income tax on raw materials and 7 per cent source tax on finished goods, which are illogical, they said.

FBCCI Vice President Md Amin Helaly said Bangladeshi entrepreneurs should now try to grab the business opportunities of the global $2 trillion outsourcing market for printing and packaging products.

The spending for printing and packaging is equivalent to almost 15 per cent of the total production cost of a product and the production cost is rising every day, he said.

"The printing and packaging sector exports $6 billion worth of products every year. Despite making this huge contribution to the economy, the sector is yet to grab attention of the government during policy making."

The government should make policies combining all the stakeholders of the sector, he said.

Coordinated effort is needed to further develop the paper and paper-based products' industry in Bangladesh, said Md Shafiqul Islam Vorosha, director in-charge of the FBCCI standing committee on paper, paper products, printing and packaging sectors.

Md Esharot Hossain, chairman of the standing committee, was also present at the event.