The National Board of Revenue, or NBR, issued related instructions on the same evening, making the tax and duty hikes effective immediately. Analysts suggest that the increased value added tax, supplementary, and excise duties on these goods and services, under pressure from the International Monetary Fund, or IMF, may lead to price hikes. Despite these assurances, experts analysing the list of affected goods and services indicate that most of these are essential in the current context, potentially fuelling non-food inflation. The government had to use ordinances to increase taxes and duties due to the absence of a national parliament. This prompted the government to suddenly increase VAT midway through the fiscal year.

Source: bd News24 January 09, 2025 19:34 UTC