Photo : Collected
Voluntary Consumers Training and Awareness Society (VOCTA) on Sunday urged the government to take effective steps to formulate a consumer-friendly budget with special emphasis on inflation control, employment and income growth.
The organisation's Executive Director Md Khalilur Rahaman Sajal made the suggestion on behalf of VOCTA, an organisation of consumer rights protection movement, at a press conference held at Abdus Salam Hall of Jatiya Press Club.
In continuation of the pre-budget proposals of 2022-2023 and 2023-2024 financial years, a 19-point recommendation was presented to make the upcoming budget of Fiscal Year 2024-2025 more people-oriented.
The recommendations included reducing the price of goods to keep it under the purchasing capacity of the consumers, keeping the import duties and taxes on daily commodities including rice, pulses, sugar and edible oil at a tolerate level and increasing the duty-tax on luxury goods.
Strengthening the monitoring of ultra-profitable business groups, raising voice against market syndication and expanding the coverage of TCB's
subsidized products for low-income group of people are also among the 19-point recommendations.
The organisation also urged the government to reduce the price of medicines in the budget to keep it at reasonable level to cut people's expanses in health sector.
They also demanded special financial allocations to speed up and expand the activities of Directorate of National Consumers' Right Protection, Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institution, Bangladesh Competition Commission and Bangladesh Food Safety Authority along with non-government voluntary organisations working in consumer rights protection.
VOCTA Chairman Professor Dr Hossain Uddin Shekhor, Vice-chairman Sanoar Hossain Nawaj and director Dr Latiful Bari were present at the press conference.
Messenger/Fameema
