প্রস্তাবিত জাতীয় বাজেট ২০২৪-২৫: প্রত্যাশা ও প্রাপ্তি

প্রস্তাবিত জাতীয় বাজেট ২০২৪-২৫: প্রত্যাশা ও প্রাপ্তি

The government has announced a budget of 7 lakh 97 thousand crore rupees for the next financial year. In the present scenario, this size of the budget is realistic and feasible to implement the government's commitment to meet the needs and aspirations of the people of the country. Along with the growth of the country's GDP size and economic infrastructure, the budget size is also increasing every year. But in the last few years, where the budget has been increased at the rate of about 10-12 percent, this time it has been increased by less than 5 percent.On the eve of the graduation of the country as a middle-income country in 2026, in order to organize the basic structure of the economy, social income and expenditure management, this year's budget has created an opportunity to take some medium-term reforms or steps. The direction in the budget needs to be more strongly proposed and a budget increase of less than 5 percent will make it more difficult to meet future challenges.Budget has pegged GDP growth at 6.75 percent and inflation target at 6.5 percent. For the current fiscal year as well, the inflation target was fixed at 6.5 percent in the budget. But in May this year, inflation stood at 9.89 percent. The IBFB sees a huge challenge in achieving the target while reducing the inflation rate. The rise in inflation must be curbed. If not, the suffering and suffering of common people will increase.Many sections have been amended at the outset of implementation of Income Tax Act, 2023 and Customs Act, 2023. The Income Tax Act, 2023 and the Customs Act, 2023 were required to be widely consulted in order to make them business-friendly and revenue-friendly. Then there would not have been so many corrections needed in the beginning. We call for the formation of a committee to harmonize the Income Tax Act and the Customs Act. We have already sent a proposal to the government to form the committee.Advance Income Tax (AIT) and Advance Tax (AT) at import level are increasing business costs. We had proposed to abolish Advance Income Tax (AIT) and Advance Tax (AT) but there was no reflection on this in the budget. Non-proper adjustment/refund of advanced income tax increases operating expenses and affects working capital. Request to reconsider the proposal to abolish Advance Income Tax (AIT) and Advance Tax (AT).The total revenue collection target in the proposed budget has been fixed at Tk 5 lakh 41 thousand crore - which is 9.7% of GDP. The target of the National Board of Revenue is Tk 4 lakh 80 thousand crores. 65 thousand 400 crores will come from other sectors. Compared to the increase in the National Board of Revenue's tax revenue target (4 lakh 80 thousand instead of 4 lakh 10 thousand), the 'other sector' (the National Board of Revenue's non-tax and non-tax income) has been reduced. Targeting pressure on the National Board of Revenue would have been further reduced if the revenue targets were not lowered but increased in both sectors due from government agencies/corporations. Collecting this huge revenue will be a big challenge for the government. Already, the country's macroeconomic indicators and the revenue collection process are under pressure due to the difficult situation prevailing worldwide.
It is necessary to ensure business-friendly revenue management and bring reforms in policy formulation and revenue collection procedures of the National Board of Revenue for targeted revenue collection. As well as increasing the tax-GDP ratio, it is necessary to increase the tax coverage, online, and expand tax offices to upazilas. In this regard, we from IBFB presented detailed proposals to the government in the meeting of the National Budget Advisory Committee.Deficit in the proposed budget is Tk 2 lakh 56 thousand crore which is 4.6 percent of GDP. However, the budget deficit for the current financial year was 5.2 percent. To meet the deficit, the government will have to take Tk 1 lakh 60 thousand 900 crores from internal sources. Out of this, 1 lakh 37 thousand 500 crores should be taken from the banking system. Also the government has to bear the burden of interest. Excessive borrowing by the government from the banking system hinders the flow of credit to the private sector. As a result investment and employment may be adversely affected. In order to meet the budget deficit, bank management needs to reduce existing NPLs and take appropriate measures to remove money from the national debt. Instead of the local banking system, attention can be paid to financing from foreign sources at the lowest possible interest rates and with caution.
The scope of social safety net has been increased in the budget. We believe that these initiatives will strengthen social security and have a positive impact on the social economy. The actual increase here has been negligible due to the inclusion of pension money in the budget allocation of the social security sector. It should also be ensured that this benefit reaches the actual beneficiaries properly.
Some measures have been taken in the budget to control inflation and to reduce consumption in unproductive and non-essential sectors as well as to control the import of luxury and non-essential goods. Imports of luxury and non-essential goods cannot be stopped by imposing higher tariffs, saving dollars in an economy suffering from wide income inequality.
The government has adopted a policy of zero tolerance against corruption to create a good governance-based administrative framework for genuine socio-economic development of the country. We applaud this initiative. Because the cost of doing business is increasing as the cost of doing business is increasing in the way that government services are being taken, the citizens of the state are also having to spend more money from their own pockets to get the basic services. It is necessary to take strict political will to establish good governance and take measures to prevent corruption.
It is important to maintain the quality of the work undertaken under the annual development program and to complete the work efficiently and on time. As well as taking the project into account, efficiency must be taken into account - so that our development is sustainable.
Presently CD of Finshed Generator imported by commercial importer is 1%. The proposed 2024-25 budget also imposes 1% CD on Generator manufacturing/ assembling raw materials (Engine, Alternator) which was 0% earlier. This tariff will increase the cost of production. If the duty rate is the same for commercial importers and industrial importers, then the industrialists will be disincentivized to produce at risk and will be left behind in competition with commercially imported finished generators. Generator manufacturing factories built with investment of hundreds of crores of rupees will be closed and thousands of people will become unemployed.
For the sake of keeping the domestic technology dependent engineering institutions alive, it is necessary to withdraw 1% CD at the import level on the raw materials (Engine, Alternator) of Diesel Generator assembling/manufacturing to realize the "Made in Bangladesh" dream of the Honorable Prime Minister and to build "Smart Bangladesh".  If the levy is withdrawn
1) Development and expansion of domestic industries will continue.
2) Foreign currency will be saved.