Car importers said cars have long been considered luxury items in Bangladesh and the government has imposed a 100 percent LC margin on importing cars to deal with the dollar crisis.
They also said, there is no alternative to trucks and pickups for goods transport on the road. These vehicles kept the supply chain running during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic. As such, they have urged the government to keep cars out of the luxury list as cars have appeared as a necessary item in the context of the country’s current economic growth.
They made the call at the second meeting of the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industries (FBCCI) standing committee on automobiles in Dhaka on Thursday. Committee Chair and Chairman of Ranar Automobiles Hafizur Rahman Khan presided over the meeting.
They said importers cannot open letters of credit (LCs) from the banks for importing cars despite fulfilling the criteria of 100 per cent margin.
FBCCI president Md. Jashim Uddin said, a foreign company has invested in building electric cars in Bangladesh, but the investment could fail if we do not address the problem of the registration process.
FBCCI Vice-President and Director in charge of the committee Md Habib Ullah Dawn said, ‘During this global crisis, we agreed with a 100 per cent LC margin decision, but the banks do not want to open LCs and discourage us through continuously seeking different documents.’
