Price Up, Price Down: Which Products Get Cheaper, Which Ones Costlier

Finance Minister Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury has presented the proposed budget for the 2026-27 fiscal year in the National Parliament.

He began presenting the budget proposal around 3:00 PM today, Thursday. This is the first budget of the BNP government's current term. In this budget, proposals have been made for duty and tax exemptions on various products and services. This will create opportunities to reduce the prices of these items.

Conversely, proposals have also been made to increase duties and taxes on some products and services, raising concerns that the prices of these items may increase. The announced duty and tax proposals in the budget take effect immediately.

An overall analysis shows that the number of products with duty/tax reductions is higher.

Prices May Increase

Cigarettes
The Finance Minister has proposed setting the minimum retail price for cigarettes: Tk 62 per 10 sticks for the low tier, Tk 92 for the medium tier, Tk 160 for the high tier, and Tk 210 for the very high tier. This will increase cigarette prices.

Referring to nicotine granules and nicotine pouches as extremely harmful to public health, the Finance Minister has proposed imposing a 350% supplementary duty on them.

Oil-Powered Vehicles
To reduce the trend of using environmentally harmful diesel, octane, or petrol-powered vehicles, it has been proposed to increase the tax burden on imported cars with internal combustion engines in the mid-range (1200 to 1600 cc) from 132.36% to approximately 156%. As a result, the prices of these cars will increase.

Foreign Cashew Nuts
To encourage domestic cultivation and production, the import duty on unprocessed and processed cashew nuts has been increased from 1% and 5% respectively to 25%. However, the import duty on unprocessed cashew nuts for domestic producers has been set at 15%. Overall, the price of foreign cashew nuts will increase.
Foreign Pangasius Fillet

A 20 percent supplementary duty has been imposed on imported pangasius fish fillets to protect the domestic fish processing industry.

Foreign Gas Cylinders

Value Added Tax (VAT) has been imposed at the import stage on the import of composite LPG (Liquefied Petroleum Gas) cylinders. This may increase their price.

Foreign Honey

The minimum customs value for importing natural honey has been increased from $2 to $7 per unit. This will require paying higher duties and taxes on honey imports, which may increase the price.

Foreign Betel Nut (Supari)

The minimum customs value for importing betel nut has been increased by $0.25 per unit. This will require paying higher duties and taxes on betel nut imports.

Foreign Food

The customs value has been increased at various rates for the import of sugar confectionery, coffee, prepared meals, etc. This will increase the duty and tax burden on importing these food items.

Foreign Lip Liner and Gel

The customs value for importing lip liner, lip gel, and similar products has been increased.

Rod (Rebar)

VAT has been increased on various materials used for manufacturing rods. This may increase the price of rods.

Others

Due to increased duties/taxes and customs values, the prices of foreign tiles, sanitaryware and basins, foreign foam, foreign microwave ovens, bicycles and parts, toys, etc., may increase.

Prices May Decrease for 60 Essential Commodities

The Finance Minister has proposed reducing the source tax rate on 60 essential commodities, including paddy, rice, wheat, potatoes, livestock, poultry, fish, onions, garlic, ginger, salt, sugar, edible oil, and seeds, from 5%, 2%, and 1% down to 0.5%. He stated that in contrast to the extreme public suffering caused by the uncontrolled rise in commodity prices in past years, this step, in line with the democratic government's electoral promises, will bring relief to people's lives.

Baby Food

The import duty on imported baby food preparation materials (as industrial raw materials) has been reduced from 15% to 10%. The Finance Minister said this will reduce the price of baby food in the market.

Cumin, Cinnamon

The 5% regulatory duty on spices such as cumin, cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, black pepper, and coriander has been completely withdrawn.

Dates

The 5% regulatory duty on date imports has been completely withdrawn. As a result, prices may decrease.
Gold Jewelry

The source tax rate on gold supply has been reduced from 5 percent to 0.5 percent. VAT was previously 5 percent. As a result, VAT on Tk 2.5 lakh worth of gold used to be Tk 12,500. Now, it has been reduced to Tk 2,500 per bhori (approx. 11.664 grams).

Electric Vehicles

Various benefits have been provided for electric vehicles (EVs). This will create opportunities to significantly reduce the prices of these vehicles. Additionally, major concessions have been given on batteries and other equipment for setting up electric vehicle charging stations.

For example, the tax burden on electric vehicles has been reduced from 93 percent to 64 percent for vehicles up to $25,000 in value, and to 80 percent for vehicles up to $50,000 in value.

Tax exemptions have also been provided for new plug-in hybrid electric vehicles. The amount of advance income tax on registration and renewal of electric vehicles with the Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) has been reduced.

Laptops and Computers

All import duties, regulatory duties, supplementary duties, and VAT on the import of laptops, desktop computers, servers, computer printers, and computer monitors have been withdrawn.

Kidney Dialysis Service

The 15 percent VAT and 5 percent advance income tax on the import of dialysis filters have been withdrawn. The Finance Minister stated that this will reduce the cost of each dialysis session for kidney patients by up to Tk 800.

Medicine

Various concessions have been given on the import of raw materials for medicines. Additionally, the Finance Minister has provided concessionary facilities for the import of 9 new raw materials for manufacturing cancer drugs.

Musical Instruments

The existing 5 percent regulatory duty on the import of musical instruments such as guitars, pianos, violins, and necessary parts for them has been completely withdrawn.

The existing import duty on the import of cinematographic cameras and spare parts for cinematographic cameras and projectors has been reduced from 15 percent to 5 percent.

Others

Due to tax reductions and changes in customs values, the prices of foreign meat, animal feed, point-of-sale (POS) devices, solar power equipment, lipstick, face wash, and various other cosmetics, as well as many other products, may decrease.