Dhaka, Jun 21 (bdnews24.com) — Fisheries and Livestock Minister Mohammad Abdul Latif Biswas has proposed to increase tax on imported powder milk to protect domestic industry.

"Three local companies - Milk Vita, Brac and Pran - are producing world quality powder milk, and due to proposed reduction in tax on imported powder milk, they are facing an uneven competition," he said in his budget speech at parliament on Thursday.

Finance Minister AMA Muhith on June 7 rolled out Tk 1.91-trillion budget for the next fiscal.

"We requested local companies to invest in setting up powder milk factories … they should be protected," he said adding, "The imported milk powder should be made expensive."

At present, the companies could use only 20 per cent of their total capacity due to uneven competition, he added.

He also urged the Finance Minister to reduce duty on powder milk packaging material to produce less expensive domestic final product.

Biswas admitted that consumers were afraid of buying fruits and fish due to formalin, a poisonous chemical that is used to protect eatables from decaying.

"We have procured 0.18-million kit to identify formalin in eatables and plan to distribute it throughout the country," he added.

Black money

Awami League lawmaker Khan Tipu Sultan asked the Finance Minister to clarify his as to for whom the money whitening provision was proposed in the budget.

"It raises questions in the minds of people," he said.

"Private investment decreased to 19.1 per cent of the GDP in the current fiscal from 19.5 per cent in the last fiscal.

"The Finance Minister also did not clarify how he would finance the budget deficit of Tk 460 billion."

On tax at source on mobile phone bills, he said it was disturbing and urged the finance minister to reconsider it.

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