President of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) Faruque Hassan has emphasized the need to enhance capabilities in innovation and diversify product and fiber offerings.

He made the observation during his speech at a program titled ‘Projecting Jute as the Fiber of the Future.’

The event, jointly organized by the Ministry of Textile and Jute and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, took place in Dhaka on December 15.

Addressing the program, Faruque Hassan highlighted the growing importance of consumers’ preference for sustainable materials, citing the increasing global attention on climate change, sustainability, and the circular economy.

“BGMEA has been actively promoting fiber diversification, with a particular focus on sustainable fibers. Initiatives have already been taken to encourage the use of alternative fibers, contributing to the transformation of our industry," he said.

The program, attended by Md. Shahriar Alam, MP, State Minister for Foreign Affairs, as the chief guest, also saw the participation of ambassadors from the EU, Saudi Arabia, Japan, China, Turkey, Pakistan, Korea, Brazil, Kosovo, Nepal, and Bhutan.

Faruque Hassan outlined the BGMEA’s commitment to promoting natural fibers, highlighting ongoing research and development to enhance jute fiber for the production of ready-made garment products.

He mentioned Bangladesh’s rich heritage, including muslin, jamdani, nakshi kantha, natural indigo dye, and the growing utilization of jute, bamboo, and other natural fabrics in sustainable textile production.

The BGMEA President urged stakeholders to take necessary steps in promoting natural fibers and incorporating improved technology to produce garments using local materials.

By linking these products to the export market, Faruque Hassan opined that it would not only revive the livelihoods of local weavers but also contribute to increased employment opportunities.

MSH

Companies and organisations will be required to file tax returns on the income generated by employee welfare funds from the current fiscal year and pay a 27.5 percent tax on the earnings. 

The Income Tax Act 2023 incorporates the provision, lifting the tax exemption and amnesty on the compulsion to file returns for funds such as provident funds, gratuity funds and workers' profit participation funds maintained by the private sector.

The law, however, has exempted government-managed provident funds from taxation, raising questions.

TIM Nurul Kabir, executive director of the Foreign Investors' Chamber of Commerce & Industry, said there were many other avenues to collect tax.

"Employees benefit from provident funds after their retirement. So, the authority should not slap taxes on retirement benefit."

He said while levying the tax, the government has not treated provident funds of the private and public sectors equally.

"It is discriminatory," he said, adding that they would appeal to the tax authority for the withdrawal of the tax on income from provident funds.

Debabrata Roy Chowdhury, director for legal, regulatory and corporate affairs at Nestlé Bangladesh PLC, said the introduction of income tax on trust funds would lower the overall income from such schemes.

"This will have an adverse long-term impact on retired employees of private organisations."

Chowdhury urged the authority to address the issue in line with the spirit of the government's initiatives aimed at ensuring social security for private sector employees.

"The recent introduction of the universal pension scheme for private sector employees is a good example of that."

A senior official of the NBR, on condition of anonymity, said the income of government-managed provident funds was exempted in line with the Provident Fund Act 1925.

He said provident funds under the private sector had been historically exempted and there was no requirement to submit tax returns. As a result, it was unclear whether the funds were properly utilised.

"From now onwards, we will see proper disclosure."

The tax official said the contribution of payroll tax is about 3 percent of the total income tax although it should increase as the economy is growing.

Md Shahadat Hossain, a former president of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Bangladesh, said income from investment in savings certificates, where people invest as a source of future earnings, is already taxed.

"From that perspective, the imposition of tax on provident and other employee welfare funds seems okay."

However, Towfiqul Islam Khan, senior research fellow at the Centre for Policy Dialogue, said social protection for private sector employees was low.

"Provident and other workers' welfare-related funds provide little social protection. The imposition of tax will increase inequality. But there can't be any discrimination in taxation between private and government provident funds."

Khan, citing the latest income tax law that replaced the Income Tax Ordinance 1984, said the NBR tried to find new avenues to increase tax collection and improve the nation's revenue-gross domestic product ratio, which is one of the lowest in the world.

"We can see the desperation of the tax authority to boost collection. This ultimately reveals the inability of the NBR to catch the tax evaders and illicit money makers."