An export-oriented company has sealed a deal to supply cooking oil to meet local demand amid supply crunch and its sharp price rises.
The National Board of Revenue, on government suggestion, also took into consideration the export company's oil-export market squeeze in India, of late, in permitting its local marketing, officials said.
The oil would be supplied at subsidized rates to small-income groups under the government-run marketing operations in the wake of price rises.
SG Oil Refineries can sell 6,000 tonnes of cooking oils per month on the local market through the Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB).
The revenue board offered the facility on a temporary basis following repeated requests from the Ministry of Commerce (MoC).
As per law, any 100% export-oriented company is barred from selling a major share of its production on the local market as it might create uneven market competition with the other cooking-oil manufacturers.
The NBR, earlier, had ruled out the proposal of the company on this ground as it enjoys duty-free benefit on import of the crude cooking oils.
According to the Customs Act, the company is allowed to sell only 20% of its last year's output on the local market.
Officials said the MoC requested the NBR to consider the proposal of the company to ensure food security of 50 million marginal-income people.
However, the NBR tagged five conditions binding the benefit, including releasing each of the products through ex-bond bill of entry, payment of all duty taxes before releasing it from warehouse, furnishing details of products and raw materials in a prescribed form, keeping documents as per bonded-warehouse rules.
The company will have to furnish details of supplied products to the TCB within 10th of every month in the Customs House Mongla.
The TCB will also have to furnish details of its receipts.
Customs export and bond wing of the NBR issued a letter to this effect to the Mongla Customs House.
SG Oil Refineries Limited is located in Mongla Export-Processing Zone (EPZ) that exports cooking oils to India under the regional trade pact Safta.
