The Bangladesh Elevator, Escalator and Lift Importers Association (BEELIA) has placed a seven-point proposal ahead of the national budget for the fiscal year 2026–27, including a key demand to reclassify elevators as essential capital machinery.
The proposals were formally submitted in writing during a pre-budget discussion meeting held at the National Board of Revenue (NBR) building on Monday (April 27). BEELIA President Shafiul Alam Uzzal, General Secretary Eadul Haque, and their representative Emdadur Rahman presented the proposals. The meeting was chaired by NBR Chairman Abdur Rahman Khan.
The key proposals from BEELIA include:
Reclassifying elevators as essential capital machinery to accelerate infrastructure development and provide necessary incentives to the sector.
Reducing the load factor rate per kilogram from $3 to $1.50 to bring down import costs and facilitate smoother business operations.
Ensuring transparency in the declaration of imported raw materials used for local elevator manufacturing and strengthening monitoring to prevent their sale in the open market.
Reducing tax disparities between imported raw materials used in local industries and fully imported elevators to ensure fair competition and promote domestic industry growth.
Simplifying port clearing procedures, particularly by allowing scaling to be completed prior to assessment instead of at the delivery stage.
Bringing so-called “briefcase companies” under the tax net to ensure fair competition and increase revenue collection.
Reviewing the import tax structure every five years instead of annually to ensure policy stability and facilitate long-term business planning.
At the meeting, BEELIA representatives also expressed their commitment to working closely with the government to develop alternative growth strategies for this import-dependent sector, establish safety and standard regulations, and create an effective regulatory authority.