Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal on Wednesday termed the apprehension of cash inflow from other sources in the name of remittance as 'unrealistic'.
He made the remark while replying to a recent call by private-sector think tank Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) which had requested the government to check whether there was any malpractice behind the increasing trend of remittance inflow in the last fiscal year despite pandemic related disruptions worldwide.
The minister’s attention was drawn Wednesday after a cabinet meeting as to whether the government checked the remittance sources in line with the CPD’s call.
“It is such an unrealistic proposal,” said the minister.
He said the government provides 2.0 per cent incentives for remittance senders. At the same time, incentives are given to various export-oriented sectors.
If anyone wants to avail the incentives, they can target other sectors, not the remittance alone.
Meanwhile, remittance inflow fell significantly during this July-September period. The minister said many Bangladeshi expatriate workers have become stuck in the country due to pandemic related complexities.
Now that they have started going abroad again, the remittance flow will increase soon, said Mr Kamal.
