Parliamentary committee for not making incentives on remittance permanent

The parliamentary standing committee on the expatriates' welfare and overseas employment ministry on Wednesday recommended that government incentives on remittance be flexible rather than permanent to increase remittances for meeting the challenges of the global labour market.

The standing committee of the 11th Parliament made the recommendation in its 17th meeting at the Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban.

The Center for Policy Dialogue (CPD) made a similar recommendation last month, saying there is no need to provide incentives to the garment industry and remittance.

The policy institute said incentives are not a sustainable structure and it should be given considering the circumstances.

In a bid to encourage expatriates to send remittances through legal channels, the government is currently providing 2.5% incentives on remittances. As the value of the dollar increases, expatriates are enjoying the benefits of this initiative. As the taka continues to slide against the US currency, they are already getting more money than they used to get by sending a dollar earlier. On top of this, they are enjoying the additional financial incentive, which is costing the government Tk4,000 crore annually in subsidy.

In view of the situation, experts have recommended suspending the incentive facility on remittance for now.

Prof Mostafizur Rahman, a distinguished fellow at CPD, last month suggested giving incentives only to investment, employment and productive sectors.

"But I think there is no justification for giving incentives to remittances at the moment," he said.

Meanwhile, the parliamentary standing committee on Wednesday also recommended taking necessary measures to solve the manpower crisis in the technical training centres under the Bureau of Manpower Employment and Training with the aim of sending skilled workers abroad.