Muhith: No more inward remittance fees

Finance minister AMA Muhith said Bangladeshi expatriates will not have to pay fees to send their remittance home. “Government agencies are going to take measures so that our expatriates can send their remittance without any fees,” Muhith said at a pre-budget meeting with the Economic Reporters’ Forum at the Finance Ministry auditorium in the Secretariat on Saturday. “We will allocate for this in the next budget,” he said. “Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina put forth this directive at the last budget preparation meeting in the Prime Minister's Office last Thursday,” he added. The finance minister further said: “We hope the prime minister’s directive will increase remittance flow to the country.” However, he did not elaborate on how the inward remittance fees would be adjusted. Muhith said the economic slowdown in the Middle East has led to a decline in the remittance sent home by Bangladeshi expatriates. The expatriates do not send home the full amount of their salaries, rather some portion remains with them, he said. In the 2016-17 fiscal year, remittance declined by 16.03%, and the 2015-16 fiscal year saw a 2.52% drop.