Government withdraws all import taxes on electric vehicle to make them accessible for students
According to the notification, both public and private educational institutions will be eligible for this facility.
To encourage the import of electric vehicles (EVs) in the country, the government has withdrawn all types of import taxes on buses intended for transporting students of educational institutions.
The Internal Resources Division (IRD) of the Ministry of Finance issued an order in this regard on 28 April, according to a notification published today (30 April).
Officials of the National Board of Revenue (NBR) under Ministry of Finance said currently, the total import tax on EVs - including customs duty, VAT, and other taxes - stands at around 62%. They believe that the removal of all taxes through this notification will boost imports for transporting students.
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On condition of anonymity, a senior NBR official told The Business Standard that the initiative has been taken to promote EVs amid uncertainties in fuel supply, so that such vehicles can be made easily accessible for students in schools, colleges, and other educational institutions.
According to the notification, both public and private educational institutions will be eligible for this facility. EV buses can be imported under this benefit if there is a contractual agreement with any educational institution for use in student transport pools.
However, several conditions must be met to avail of this benefit. The imported buses must be brand new and come with a warranty of at least seven years or 300,000 kilometres.
Additionally, the buses must be equipped with CCTV cameras, registered with the Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) as school, college or student transport buses, and cannot be sold or transferred within five years of import.
