Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal on Wednesday dismissed the speculations over cash inflow from other sources in the name of remittance.
It's "unrealistic", he said while replying to a newsman's question over a recent call by the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) for the government to check the source of income of remitters who send over $5,000 at a time.
The CPD smelt a rat behind the increased trend in remittance inflow in the last fiscal year when Bangladeshi expatriates like others in the world fell in trap of pandemic-related disruptions and their work and earnings both came to a near-halt.
In July, former chairman of the National Board of Revenue Muhammad Abdul Majid at a programme also suspected misuse of the cash-incentive facility on remittance.
At the event planning minister M A Mannan also had felt the need for checking if there was a 'parallel underground system' of sending money abroad and bringing that back to avail the incentives.
The finance minister's attention was drawn, after a virtual meeting of the cabinet committee on public purchase, as to whether his office checked the source of remittance in line with the CPD's sceptical call.
"It is so unrealistic a proposal," the minister replied.
He noted that the government provides 2.0-per cent incentives to remittance senders to encourage them to use legal channel, instead of conduits like hundi.
Mr Kamal says many people say many things. Some say money is sent abroad and brought back to avail the cash-incentive facility.
He tried several times to inform people that there are many other sectors where cash incentives are provided.
"Why people will target only the remittance to avail the incentives," he asked and added that they also can use other sectors for this. "I don't think that is true."
Meanwhile, remittance inflow fell significantly during this July-September period.
Asked for a comment on the downturn, the finance minister said: "It is too early to make a comment on it."
He said in the last three months, remittance had come less by $1.0 billion compared to the same period of previous year. "We expect that it will go up again gradually."
Mr Kamal informed that last year the country received nearly $25 billion in remittance. If the present rate continues, some $22 billion to $23 billion can be expected this year.
"The main reason is our expatriates have become stuck after returning home and couldn't go back," he said, adding that now they have started retuning to workplaces abroad. "We hope normalcy in remittance flow in two or three months."
The minister said the government has to be given more time to make an assessment on the falling trend.
"We will check what is happening. We will see whether a similar number of expatriates now gone back abroad," Mr Kamal said. Thereafter, if remittance is seen not increasing, "we can think there may be other reasons, too".
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