Coverage of remittance incentive widened

FT ONLINE 

Bangladeshis who have been working at foreign offices of the country's shipping or airlines, or a local mariner or aircraft pilot working at a foreign shipping or airlines will enjoy two percent cash incentive on remittance they send home from abroad. 

Foreign Exchange Policy Department of Bangladesh Bank yesterday issued a circular on this issue and asked banks to follow this instruction with immediate effect. 

"If any Bangladeshi official, working in a foreign country for United Nation or any other organisation or institution and in a foreign mission, sends remittance from their income, then he or she will get 2 percent cash incentive on the remitted amount," reads the circular.  

Central bank officials said it is a clarification of the previous circular issued on August 6, 2019 announcing two percent cash incentive to encourage Bangladeshis to send money home through official channel. 

For providing incentives, the government has allocated Tk3,060 crore in this fiscal year. To get incentive on remittance of up to $1,500, no documents will be required and it will be provided instantly.

If the remittance exceeds $1,500, the receiver will have to provide the passport copy and foreign company's appointment letter of the sender. Businesspeople will have to submit a copy of their trade licences. 

According to the Bangladesh Bank data, remittance inflow during the first eight months of the current fiscal year was 20 percent higher to nearly $12.50 billion from the corresponding period of the previous fiscal year. Cash incentive is one of the reasons cited for the growth in inward remittance.