The government has reduced the import duty on newsprint for the newspaper industry by 2%, setting it at 3%.
The Internal Resources Division (IRD) issued the order on Monday, the same day the proposed budget for the fiscal year 2025–26 was announced.
Finance Adviser Dr Salehuddin Ahmed presented the proposed budget for the 2025-2026 fiscal year, amounting to Tk7,89,999 crore, in a televised speech.
While Financial Adviser Dr Salehuddin Ahmed did not mention the duty reduction in his televised and radio address on the budget, the IRD order stated that the revised rate would apply to newsprint imports brought in under the annual quota or entitlement jointly determined by the Information Ministry and the Commerce Ministry.
To qualify for the reduced duty, the imported newsprint must have a width of less than 28 inches.
During pre-budget discussions, the Newspaper Owners' Association of Bangladesh (NOAB) had presented three proposals. Of these, only the recommendation to reduce the import duty on newsprint by 2% to 3% was partially accepted.
NOAB’s other two proposals were reducing the VAT on newsprint imports from 15% to 5% and declaring the newspaper industry as a service sector to either exempt it from corporate tax or apply the minimum possible rate.
However, the financial adviser did not comment on these proposals during the budget speech.
Industry representatives said that while they welcomed the reduction in duty, the government’s silence on the other demands was disappointing, reports Bangla Tribune.
They added that in the current challenging environment, the sector needed broader incentives for meaningful support.