The interim government has withdrawn the 2 percent tax at source on cotton imports, bowing to persistent demands from the Bangladesh Textile Mills Association. In a notification issued Thursday, the National Board of Revenue said the withholding tax had been reduced to zero. “The government enforced a 2 percent advance income tax on cotton imports without engaging the industry,” he said. “Cotton imports have never faced any form of duty in the past.”Showkat warned that mills cannot operate profitably under the weight of the tax. “Textile manufacturers simply cannot stay afloat if forced to pay a 2 percent advance tax on every cotton shipment,” he said.
