Lifts are not luxury goods, they are capital machinery for the construction sector and the government should not impose high duty on lift imports, said Bangladesh Elevator, Escalators and Lift Importers Association (BEELIA).
The proposed budget raised duty on imported lift to 43% from 25.75% and it is going to hurt importers and buyers, the association President Emdadur Rahman said at a press conference on Wednesday in the capital.
Thousands of lifts are in import stage now and the higher duty will raise their price, risking the assurance of supply to the buyers, he said, adding, “The government should collect the duty at previous rate for the lifts ordered till June 2025.”
Lifts were treated as capital machinery in Bangladesh until 2022 when they were declared commercial goods, subject to higher import duty.
“We demand the government again treats lift as capital machinery and reduce their duty burden for the affordability of the key equipment of construction sector,” he said.
BEELIA leaders also complained about excessive duty burden imposed by the previous government.
For instance, 65% of a lift is made of iron and steel, 25% concrete block and the remaining 10% are electrical and electronic components. Both iron and steel prices in the international market are less than $1 per kg, but the government, concrete price is too insignificant. The government set the tariff value of lift at $3 per kg.
Tariff value is the minimum value of an imported product the National Board of Revenue sets and it collects duty based on the tariff value, instead of the actual import price.
The tariff value results in higher import duty for lifts and BEELIA demanded a rationalization.
The proposals for safety
The association demanded reduction of excessive duty and value added tax on spare parts of lift for proper maintenance of lifts which is crucial for safety.
BEELIA also requested the government to formulate Bangladesh’s own standards and safety code for lift and escalator.
Also, we need a capable regulatory body to oversee lift and escalator supply, installation, maintenance and monitoring, lack of which risks accidents.
Since Bangladesh lacks raw material and yet to have a scaled-up market, lift assembling locally should be encouraged alongside manufacturing.
Any firm engaged in lift business should be licensed by the government, the association proposed.
To build a skilled human resource base in the country, there should be educational curriculum on lift and escalator.
They demanded a government policy for development of local lift industry capable of high-quality lifts, their local market penetration and later targeting export markets. A taskforce including all stakeholders will help.
A very few local companies including Walton are manufacturing lift in Bangladesh. However, imported lifts are still popular among building owners.