Businessmen have urged the government to keep cars out of the luxury list as cars have appeared as a necessary item in the context of the country's current economic growth.
They made the call at the second meeting of the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industries (FBCCI) standing committee on automobiles in Dhaka Thursday, according to UNB.
The traders said cars have long been considered luxury items in Bangladesh and the government has imposed a 100 per cent LC margin on importing cars to deal with the dollar crisis.
"There is no alternative to trucks and pickups for goods transport on the road. These vehicles kept the supply chain running during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic," the businessmen said.
They said importers cannot open letters of credit (LCs) from the banks for importing cars despite fulfilling the criteria of 100 per cent margin.
FBCCI Vice-President and Director in charge of the committee Md Habib Ullah Dawn said: "During this global crisis, we agreed with a 100 per cent LC margin decision, but the banks do not want to open LCs and discourage us through continuously seeking different documents."
Also, the businessmen demanded amending the rule of mandatory driving licence while purchasing a motorcycle, harassment-free issuance of driving licence, specific HS code for an electric vehicle, registration for three-wheelers and sector-friendly policy support.