The National Board of Revenue (NBR) has waived 4.0 per cent advance tax (AT) on import of soybean oil and palm oil.
The AT has been waived to keep the prices of essentials affordable to consumers ahead of the holy month of Ramadan.
The VAT policy wing of NBR issued a Statutory Regulatory Order (SRO) on Sunday in this regard.
"Earlier, the government has fixed the prices of edible oil to curb the price hike of the product," said commerce minister Tipu Munshi.
"Sale of edible oil will have to be ensured at the prices fixed by the national committee constituted of the representatives of the government and the trade bodies. We will strictly monitor the market in this regard," said the minister.
He also said the price of loose soybean oil has been set at Tk 115 per litre at the consumer level, Tk 110 per litre at the distributor level and Tk107 per litre at the mill gate.
The price of bottled soybean oil has been fixed at Tk 135 per litre at the consumer level, Tk 127 per litre at the distributor level and Tk 123 per litre at the mill gate, he added.
Price of five-litre bottled soybean oil has been fixed at Tk 630 at the consumer level, Tk 610 per litre at the distributor level, and Tk 590 per litre at the mill gate level.
The commerce minister informed that price of palm oil super has been fixed at Tk 104 per litre at the consumer level, Tk 98 per litre at the distributor level and Tk 95 per litre at mill gate.
The new prices would come into effect immediately, he further said.
Prices of edible oil witnessed a rise in the international market, he said, adding that the new prices of edible oil have been fixed taking into consideration all issues including the import price and shipping cost.
Aiming to keep the commodity prices stable during Ramadan the NBR decided to exempt 4 percent advance tax, according to a press release from the Ministry of Finance on Wednesday.
Every year during the month of Ramadan, the prices of the daily necessities, especially edible oil rises very high much to the suffering of the lower and middle-income people.
