Cabinet approves tax relief for brand new electric vehicle imports

Electric buses - Bangladesh makes import of brand new electric vehicles tax-free.

Dhaka, May 3 — The Cabinet has approved a set of tax measures for the import of completely new electric vehicles, including buses and trucks.

The decision was taken at a Cabinet meeting held Sunday at 6:45 pm in the Cabinet Room of the National Parliament, according to a statement from the Cabinet Division.

The meeting was chaired by Prime Minister Tarique Rahman. 

Under the decision, a notification will be issued to maintain the Value Added Tax (VAT) at 15 percent for electric buses with a minimum of 17 seats, for use in sectors other than student transportation.

At the same time, these imports will be exempted from customs duty (CD), regulatory duty (RD), supplementary duty (SD), advance tax (AT) and advance income tax (AIT), subject to certain conditions.

The facility will remain in effect till June 30, 2026 - i.e. the end of the current fiscal.

It follows an earlier decision to allow the duty-free import of electric buses for educational institutions to promote safe and environment-friendly transportation for students.

The initiative was proposed by the Internal Resources Division, the statement said.

A similar notification will also be issued for the import of trucks with a capacity of five tons or more, the statement added. - UNB