BABBMA Calls for VAT Reduction on Bread and Biscuits to Protect Low-Income Consumers

• BABBMA urges the government to reduce VAT on bread and biscuits in the FY26 budget.
• Current VAT rates are increasing production costs and making products unaffordable for low-income consumers.
• VAT on biscuits was previously reduced from 15% to 7.5% after protests, but other items still face higher rates.
• BABBMA submitted proposals to reduce VAT to 5%, but these were not included in the budget.
• The association highlights the importance of supporting agro-processing industries for economic growth.
• Lack of implementation of the Agro-Processing Policy is a concern, as it was supposed to provide soft loans.
• BABBMA emphasizes the need for affordable basic food items and urges immediate VAT reduction to protect industry and consumers.

Source: dhakatribune.com

Note that this post was (partially) written with the help of AI. It is always useful to review the original source material, and where needed to obtain (local) advice from a specialist.