Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal, in his budget speech at the parliament today, proposed to withdraw the 15 percent VAT on the import of gold bar. He made the proposal to discourage illegal import of gold and encourage import of gold on legal routes through authorised dealers. “Despite the Gold Policy 2018, gold has not been imported legally into the country due to the existing high tax incidence,” he said. The finance minister hopes that this measure will boost up gold importation through the legal route, expand the local gold ornaments making industry and enhance VAT at the local stage.
