Motorcycle manufacturers have sought specific instructions in the budget allowing them to paint parts of the imported Completely Knocked Down (CKD) motorcycles in local factories.
They claimed local painting factories maintained international standards and were capable enough to paint at least 5 lakh motorcycle parts annually.
Motorcycle Manufacturers and Exporters Association Bangladesh (MMEAB) yesterday placed to Finance Minister AMA Muhith. The proposals were signed by association’s president Hafizur Rahman Khan.
The government in the FY2015-16 budget proposed to increase supplementary duty on imported CKD motorcycles to 45% from 30%.
It has also proposed to impose a condition that all CKD parts of a motorcycle should be imported in unpainted condition.
Local makers said the local painting companies are able to meet the demand for next few years as the annual demand of motorcycles in Bangladesh is nearly 3 lakh.
They said if specific institutions from the government were provided, it would benefit the CKD motorcycle importers.
The manufacturers said local painting factories could reduce production cost through achieving high production capacity if the facility was given.
“We have painting factories. They can render services to the importers and if they paint here, it will help save foreign currency,” Hafizur Rahman told Dhaka Tribune.
If the importers got their imported parts painted locally, they could offer lower prices to the customers than that of other countries, he added. However, Bangladesh Motorcycle Assemblers and Manufacturers Association (BMAMA) has expressed the opposite view.
They said local factories were not of required standard, so import of unpainted motorcycles would result in the increased cost of production.
The country’s motorcycle market size is currently not enough to set up a painting factory as it costs a huge amount of money, said BMAMA secretary Mohiuddin Ahmed.
“We import 90% of the parts and assemble motorcycles locally contributing a huge amount of revenue to the government exchequer,” he said.
“If we paint them locally, the government will lose the revenue. Besides, the quality of the local painting factories is not of the desired standard,” he added.