Bangladesh government cuts VAT on soybean and palm oil imports

Bangladesh government on Thursday, October 17, reduced the value-added tax (VAT) on imports of soybean and palm oil from 15 percent to 10 percent, writes Prothom Alo. The reduced VAT will be effective until December 15, 2024. The National Board of Revenue (NBR) has issued two separate notifications to reduce VAT on import, processing and sale of soybean and palm oil. According to the document, producers of edible oil, which is mostly imported, are exempted from paying VAT. Bangladesh is one of the promising destinations for vegetable oils. Bangladesh has significantly increased imports of the product in recent years. In 2023/24, the country purchased 575,000 tons of soybean oil. In 2023, Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay supplied 275 thousand tons, 238 thousand tons and 112 thousand tons of oil to the country. Despite the increase in domestic production (364 thousand tons in 2023/24), Bangladesh is expected to increase soybean oil imports to 890 thousand tons by 2032/33. For almost ...