Post-LDC challenges now a headache for Bangladesh: finance secretary

Bangladesh's graduation from the least developed country (LDC) category is a milestone but the challenges the nation would face after the leap have become a headache for the economy, Finance Secretary Md Khairuzzaman Mozumder said today.

There are two major post-LDC challenges -- Bangladesh will lose the duty-free benefits under preferential tariffs and it has to phase out the existing export subsidies, the secretary said.

The secretary made the comments at a ceremony organised by the National Board of Revenue to honour the country's 141 top taxpayers, at Bangabandhu International Conference Centre in Dhaka.

The government is currently negotiating to extend the duty-free benefit period and the country might get the facility for a few more years, the secretary said.

"But it won't exist for a long time."

These two challenges will undoubtedly hurt the country competitiveness and create two more problems -- exports will fall and the country will have to go for a sharp import duty cut, he said.

Eventually, the country's revenue collection will face a huge challenge, Mozumder said.

The finance division and the NBR are jointly working to reform the domestic revenue sector, which will play a big role in tackling the challenges, he said.

The government targets achieving one crore direct taxpayers by 2026 and the mid-term reform strategy of the NBR will be implemented by next June, the secretary said.