Customs duty for buses may halve to 5%

In a move to develop an effective public transport system in the country's major cities, the interim government may reduce customs duties on the import of public buses.

A finance ministry official, on condition of anonymity, told The Daily Star that the existing 10 percent customs duty on the import of 16- to 40-seat buses could be reduced to 5 percent in line with an initiative aimed at modernising the fleet and improving passenger comfort nationwide.

Importers say that they currently must pay 10 percent import duty, 15 percent value-added tax (VAT), 5 percent advance tax, and 5 percent advance income tax for 16- to 40-seat buses.

Japanese buses, known for their technological superiority, are expensive, and the existing tax burden significantly increases their import cost, they added.

Abdul Haque, president of the Bangladesh Reconditioned Vehicles Importers and Dealers Association, told The Daily Star that reducing customs duty on public bus imports is a timely and rational step.

Many buses currently operating in Dhaka and other major cities are in poor condition, with some lacking fitness certification altogether. This poses serious safety risks for passengers, he said.

Haque added that lowering import duties would help modernise urban transport fleets and ensure safer, more reliable services for the public.

Mohammad Rahmat, a Mirpur resident employed at a private company in Dhaka, said he frequently relies on public buses for his daily commute. However, the dilapidated vehicles and the chaotic state of the public transport system cause immense suffering.

"Travelling is especially difficult for the elderly, women, and children. It is crucial to devise and implement effective solutions to this problem without delay," he added.

One in five private buses in Dhaka lack fitness certificates

More than one in five buses operated by private companies in the capital have no valid fitness certificates, according to a 2023 document from the Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA).

The document states that 3,974 buses belonging to 75 companies have the required route permits to operate in Dhaka city, but 871 of them — 21.92 percent — do not have fitness clearances.

However, transport sector insiders said the reality was that there are over 120 operators who run more than 5,000 buses in the capital. Many of these vehicles do not have route permits and allegedly ply the city streets by paying bribes, they added.

Section 25 of the Road Transport Act-2018 clearly states that operation of unfit and rundown vehicles is a punishable offence, and one may face up to six months in jail or a Tk 25,000 fine or both.

Besides, there are dedicated people, such as vehicle inspectors, at the BRTA offices who are supposed to check all these aspects before giving fitness clearance to a particular vehicle.

Yet, even with the strict legal provision and monitoring mechanism in place, rundown buses ply the city streets, contributing to road accidents and pollution, under the very nose of the authorities.

From 2019 to June 2024, a total of 32,733 accidents were reported across the country, resulting in 35,384 deaths and 53,196 injuries, according to the Road Safety Foundation. Of them, 1,915 were bus passengers.

In 2022, former Dhaka South City Corporation Mayor Sheikh Fazle Noor Taposh said that over 1,600 unauthorised buses were operating in the city despite an ongoing drive against such vehicles.

The government formed a committee in 2019 to rationalise bus routes and reduce the number of service providers.

So far, the system has been implemented on only three of the 42 planned reshaped routes.