In an unprecedented move, Bangladesh has upended its previous policy of heavily taxing electric vehicles (EVs) and promoting fossil-fuel-run transport. While presenting tax and tariff proposals for the next fiscal year starting on July 1, finance minister Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury, in his budget speech in the parliament on June 11, unveiled a set of coordinated tariff structures to promote EVs and solar energy to reduce carbon emissions and combat air pollution. The minister offered zero tariffs for the import of electric buses and trucks, the setting up of vehicle charging stations, and the production of solar energy; hiked tariffs for fossil-fuel-powered transport; reduced registration fees for EVs; and introduced a set of incentives with the target of reducing pollution from the transport sector, which contributes 9% of greenhouse gas emissions. This is the first coordinated government initiative for transitioning Bangladesh’s long-overdue modernization of the transport system, as pollutants from thousands of diesel-run buses and trucks aggravate the air pollution in mega-cities like Dhaka and Chattogram. According to UN estimates, more than 235,000 people die from complications due to air pollution every year in Bangladesh, with hundreds of thousands of people suffering from asthma and other respiratory diseases.
The tax waiver and concession The government has decided to offer a “full exemption (except value-added tax)” on the import of EVs, including electric buses and trucks, and also offered exemption from taxes for the installation of vehicle charging stations. Additionally, the government reduced registration fees for EVs and increased tariffs for fossil-fuel-powered transport. These measures aim to reduce pollution from the transport sector, which contributes 9% of greenhouse gas emissions. According to UN estimates, more than 235,000 people die from complications due to air pollution every year in Bangladesh, with hundreds of thousands of people suffering from asthma and other respiratory diseases.
Source: Mongabay