Reconditioned vehicle importers have urged the government to review the proposed duty structure for automobiles, saying budgetary benefits for electric vehicles (EVs) could erode the competitiveness of hybrid and fossil-fuel-powered reconditioned cars in Bangladesh's developing automobile market.
Abdul Haque, president of the Bangladesh Reconditioned Vehicles Importers and Dealers Association (Barvida), made the call at a press conference at Dhaka Club recently.
The association said the proposed budget grants significant duty benefits to EVs while raising the tax burden on popular reconditioned vehicles, particularly mid-range fossil-fuel-powered cars used by middle-income consumers.
The overall tax incidence on cars in the 1,201cc-1,600cc segment would rise to 159.80 percent from 132.36 percent under the proposed restructuring of engine-capacity slabs, the association said.
As a result, prices of popular models such as the Toyota Premio and Axio may rise by Tk 2.5 lakh to Tk 3 lakh, Barvida said.
