BM Desk : Bangladesh Elevator, Escalator and Lift Importers Association (BELIA) has held a press conference demanding withdrawal of additional tax on elevators.

The organization’s president, Emdad Ur Rahman, and general secretary, Md. Shafiul Alam Ujjal, spoke at a press conference held at Dhaka Reporters Unity on Wednesday, June 18, where the Bangladesh Elevator, Escalator and Lift Importers Association (BELIA) demanded that elevators be included as capital equipment in the budget for the upcoming fiscal year 2025-26 and that additional duties and taxes imposed on the product be removed.

The leaders of Belia announced that in the upcoming fiscal year 2025-26, elevators will remain classified under the commercial product category, and the proposed budget includes an increase in the tax rate for this product. The total customs duty applicable to the elevator sector, which comprises a 15 percent import duty, a 5 percent advance tax, and a newly introduced 15 percent VAT, amounts to 43 percent. In comparison, the previous fiscal year 2024-25 had a total duty of 25.75 percent.

Emdad Ur Rahman, the president of the organization, stated that after a sale and contract execution, the production and importation of elevators require a considerable amount of time. Prior to this June, over a thousand elevators are currently undergoing purchasing orders, opening letters of credit, preparation, shipping, and customs clearance at the port. These elevators were sold under the previous duty rate of 25.75 percent. If they are now subjected to the newly imposed additional duty rate of 43 percent, the relevant institutions will incur significant financial losses. This situation will jeopardize the buyers’ assurance of receiving the product. In light of this, he strongly urged that the duties and taxes be maintained at the previous budget levels for elevators ordered before June.

Belia’s General Secretary Md. Shafiul Alam Ujjal emphasized that elevators are crucial for the advancement of the country’s housing sector. The imposition of additional duties and taxes in the 2025-26 budget will lead to a substantial increase in product prices, resulting in considerable losses for consumers. This will ultimately hinder the overall development of the housing sector. Additionally, it will adversely impact businessmen and thousands of workers linked to this sector. Therefore, he called for the withdrawal of this additional duty on elevators prior to the approval of the proposed budget and for elevators to be recognized as capital equipment as they were previously.

The press conference also stated that because of the overvaluation of the international market price, the elevator must pay extra tariffs and taxes at the import stage. Taking into account the elevator’s weight, 65 percent of its parts are composed of steel and iron, 25 percent are concrete blocks, and the remaining 10 percent are electrical components. Concrete blocks are extremely cheap, and iron and steel cost less than $1 per kilogram. In order to be practical, the elevator’s price was set at $3 per kilogram even during the previous administration.