Country's sugar refiners have sought waiver of existing regulatory duty (RD) on raw sugar import, aiming to keep the sweetener prices stable in the market.
They also have sought introduction of specific duty, like the duty structure of the cement sector, on import of crude sugar.
Besides, they have urged the government to instruct the banks to open LCs on a regular basis.
Bangladesh Sugar Refiners Association (BSRA) through a letter has recently requested the commerce ministry to take necessary steps in this regard, confirmed a high official of the ministry.
The association has proposed fixing prices of imported consumer products according to the dollar rate set by the Bangladesh Bank (BB).
To keep the domestic market stable, the refiners have been importing raw sugar at international prices. Sugar price often fluctuates in the global market.
So, more duty is being paid for importing raw sugar due to the trend of upward prices in the international market. For this, the import price of each refiner is different, according to the association.
The production cost will be reduced if the government fixes the existing customs duty at a tolerable stage, they claimed.
The tax incidence on the import of sugar is higher compared to other essential commodities.
Contacted, Secretary General of the sugar refiners' association Golam Rahman said, "We have requested the government to impose only specific duty on import of raw sugar like the one on the cement industry, withdrawing the existing RD, VAT and customs duty."
Currently, some 15 per cent VAT is levied on the import of raw sugar, while the import duty (customs duty) is Tk 3,000 per tonne, said Mr Rahman.
However, 30 per cent regulatory duty is also applicable on the import of sugar. In addition, the government imposes 2.0 per cent advance income tax (AIT), he added.
There is no VAT at the production stage of crude sugar.
Five private refineries in the country have been selling necessary sugar by refining raw sugar imported from the global market. Currently, the daily production capacity of the refineries is around 10,000 tonnes.
The country's annual demand for sugar is now 1.8-2.2 million tonnes.
Recently, the commerce ministry has set the price of packed sugar at Tk 95 per kg and loose sugar at Tk 90.
