1pc cash incentive for apparel exporters to continue

An additional 1pc cash incentive against export of apparel goods, along with the existing incentives, will continue well into the next fiscal year. Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal made the announcement while he was announcing the national budget for FY2020-21 in the parliament on Thursday. 

As per the directives of the prime minister, the government started providing an additional 1% cash incentive along with other existing export incentives to the textiles and RMG industry from FY2019-2020.

“As a result, the sector has been able to sustain their businesses amid the Covid-19 pandemic,'' said Kamal.

“As this has continued in the current fiscal year, the textile and garment industry has turned around and achieved the expected exports despite the challenges arising from the pandemic,” he also said.

“For this reason, I am proposing to continue this additional export incentive at the rate of 1% in the next financial year as well,” the minister added.

Moreover, Kamal also proposed to include a photosensitive rotary screen, temperature sensor and loaded PCB in the concessionary rate to protect the textile industry. 

Currently, apparel exporters enjoy 4% cash incentives against exports to non-traditional markets. 

Beyond this, the sector also enjoys a 1% cash incentive to all export destinations.

The government has kept on providing all kinds of benefits, including cash incentives, to the readymade garment (RMG) industry, as it is the principal export sector of the country.

The additional 1% export incentive is being provided to all categories of RMG exports from FY2019-20.

A substantial portion of Bangladesh’s export earnings comes from the RMG sector. 

Moreover, various supplementary service sectors, such as banking, insurance, IT, transport, tourism, etc., have flourished with the growth of the RMG industry. 

The Export Promotion Bureau has been implementing a skill development program for the RMG sector with a revolving fund of Tk20 crore under which 10,980 workers have been provided with skills training in FY2019-2020. 

In addition, the ongoing Skills for Employment Investment Program (SEIP) of the Finance Division has provided skills training and job opportunities to 100,000 new-entrants, of which 35% are women.