Purchasing new cars or replacement of the same by any government agency will remain suspend until December 2020 as part of austerity measures to combat Covid-19 pandemic.

The finance division under the Ministry of Finance on Thursday (July 9) issued a circular signed by joint secretary Md Mahfuzur Rahman in this regard.

According to the circular, as part of the government austerity measures, all government offices, semi-government and autonomous bodies will keep suspend purchase of new car or replacement till December 31, 2020.

The government is moving towards strict austerity measures under ‘operating and development expenditure’ till the end of December.

An official of finance division said, “We want to save money through different types of austerity measures as a part of crisis management strategy amid the coronavirus economic fallout.”

According to a data provided by the government transport pool, the government spends around Tk 50 crore every year to buy and replace new car.

Meanwhile, the country’s trade and commerce have come to a standstill due to the spread of coronavirus resulting in a major catastrophe in revenue collection. Therefore, the government has decided to curb its expenditure.