If the government does not reinstate previous supplementary duty the importers will not release any imported car from the Chittagong port from July 01, Bangladesh Reconditioned Vehicles Importers' and Dealers' Association (Barvida) leaders said at a press conference on the proposed budget at the National Press Club.

Under the newly proposed duty structure, the price of a reconditioned car will be raised from Tk 40,000 to Tk 1 lakh, they said.

In 2002, duty on and selling price of a 1300cc Toyota Corolla Dx car was Tk 2.51 lakh and Tk 5 lakh while under the proposed structure, duty on the same car will be Tk 4.57 lakh, raising its selling price to Tk 9.4 lakh, Barvida President Abdul Mannan Chowdhury Khoshru said.

"Due to the proposed duty structure, middle class people will not be able to buy reconditioned cars," he said, adding that the government's taxation policy on the reconditioned cars after 2002 has not been transparent.

"Sometimes it is seen that old or reconditioned cars are better than even new ones," he said.

Many developed countries like New Zealand and Australia are importing Japanese reconditioned vehicles, he said indicating it as a currency saving means for a country.

As the government now allows import of vehicles up to four years old, import and delivery of reconditioned pick-ups and trucks have greatly decreased whereas these vehicles always played a significant role in transporting goods of export-oriented industries as well as the agricultural sector.

He urged the government to allow import of vehicles used up to seven years.

The government can earn Tk 1000 crore as revenue from the sector by reforming import and supplementary duty policy, he added.

Barvida Vice-president Abdul Hamid, Secretary General Shah Mosharraf Hossain and Vice-president Habibur Rahman were also present at the function.