Weekly News Clippings (August 8, 2013)

Ministry to step up security against milk imports (The Daily Star, August 8, 2013)

The commerce ministry has started working towards preventing the entry of contaminated milk through imports. The move was made after Fonterra, the world’s largest dairy producer, admitted that some batches of its infant formula and sports drinks contained a whey product contaminated by a bacteria that can cause a fatal illness. There have been no reported illness so far, but many countries including China have temporarily banned the import of some of the products of the New Zealand-based company.

Children toil in sweatshops (The Daily Star, August 8, 2013)

Children, mostly aged between 10 and 18, work as apprentices at jeans factories in Keraniganj on the outskirts of Dhaka, without any salary. For Eid, however, they receive a small, one-off payment. After work, they sleep in the poorly ventilated rooms of the factories, which do not have safety measures like fire exits or fire extinguishers. There are about 150-175 such commercial buildings in Keraniganj, where at least two lakh workers in about 10,000 factories, said Mizanur Rahman, president of Keraniganj Garment Traders and Shop Owners’ Association. The factories have been there for about 20 years.

NBR exempts telecos from VAT on revenue sharing (Dhaka Tribune, August 6, 2013)

Cell phone operators have been exempted from paying a 15% VAT on their revenue sharing with the BTRC through a Statutory Regulatory Order issued by the tax regulator. The National Board of Revenue (NBR) that according to the law, mobile companies had to pay a VAT when they shared 5.5% revenue with the telecom regulator, although they pay 15% VAT on their total earnings.

Govt plans duty privileges for car importers (The Daily Star, August 5, 2013)

The National Board of Revenue plans to give duty benefits to a section of reconditioned car importers. The move will reduce the duty burden on the importers who are yet to collect around 3,700 vehicles from the ports. The tax privileges known as depreciation benefits—now 45 percent—are meant for the current fiscal year. The NBR will now provide the same benefits to the vehicles imported in the last three fiscal years, which will cost the state coffers roughly Tk 100 crore. The depreciation benefit to assess the duty of five-year-old cars increased to 45 percent this fiscal year from a flat rate of 35 percent on the previous year.

48pc of migrant workers lack training: BMET (The Daily Star, August 4, 2013)

About 48 percent of the five lakh Bangladeshis who migrate abroad each year are under-skilled or unskilled. They do not have enough training to compete with the workers of countries, such as India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal and the Philippines, said a director at the Bureau of Manpower, Employment and Training (BMET). The majority of these workers have little or no education. According to BMET, 33 percent of the workers are semi-skilled while only 19 percent are professionals.

Pledges not fulfilled (The Daily Star, August 4, 2013)

A group of civil society organisations have launched an initiative to follow through on the commitments made in the aftermath of the Rana Plaza collapse, which are yet to be fulfilled after over three months into the incident. Given their slow implementation, the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) in partnership with 14 other organisations have formed the forum to accelerate the process. Rehman Sobhan, chairman of CPD, said the forum would put pressure on the government and other stakeholders so that “they discharge their responsibilities properly”.

Biman Bangladesh Airlines inks 10-year deal with SITA “(eTurbo News, August 4, 2013)Bangladesh Airlines has formalized a 10-year deal with SITA to transform and manage its infrastructure, targeting to double its passengers within the next two years. Under the multi-million-dollar agreement, SITA will upgrade Biman's global network and operational messaging and help transform its workspace, helping the airline achieve substantial savings. SITA is a Switzerland-based multinational information technology company specialising in providing IT and telecommunication services to the air transport industry.

'Undisclosed' income investment facility yet to create any impact (The Financial Express, August 3, 2013)

The country's real estate operators are yet to witness any impact of ‘undisclosed income’ being allowed in the budgetary measures. They blame the inclusion of 'contradictory' provisions for discouraging the buyers. A section of the Income Tax Ordinance says:

“The provision of this section shall not apply where the source of such investment, made by the assesses for the purchase or construction of such residential building or apartment is

• Derived from any criminal activities under any other law for the time being in force or
• Not derived from any legitimate sources."

According to Sheltech’s managing director Taufiq M Seraj, the company sold around 15 flats during last Ramadan but has not sold a single one this year. The realtors also blamed recent social and political instability ahead of the 10th parliamentary elections behind the poor response.