New budget to focus on agro investment

The upcoming national budget of FY2022-23 will focus on growth of agricultural production to reducing import dependency, NBR sources said on Wednesday.

The government has recently given a guideline to the National Board of Revenue (NBR) to keep a 10-years tax holiday for the investment in agriculture related 6-sectors including crops production, food processing plant, dairy, fisheries, fertilizer plant and agro-machinery and tech sector.

In other words, those who will invest in this sector by June 30, 2030, will get the benefit of this income tax exemption, said the officials of NBR.

To avail the tax exemption facility, minimum investment of Tk 1.0 crore is needed with required registration with the Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (BIDA). The entire raw material must be collected from the domestic sources.

Bangladesh has immense potential in the domestic agro-based industry. Development and employment of agro-based industries is possible by creating import alternatives for agricultural products, a study on agriculture said.

The government has taken such initiatives to make the economy dynamic as well as create new job opportunities. Analysts say the aim is to create new ventures, especially in the rural economy, and to include more young people.

 In the upcoming budget, Tk 15,000 crore would be given for agro sector incentives, up from Tk 9,500 crore in the current fiscal year, reports UNB.