Every year when the national budget is announced, two questions dominate dinner table conversations across Bangladesh: what is going to cost more, and what can we finally afford a little more easily? The record Tk 9.38 lakh crore FY27 budget is not an exception. The government has tinkered with prices of a wide range of goods, some to your advantage, some not through a mixture of import duty cuts, supplementary tax increases and VAT adjustments. Here’s a straight, category-by-category look at what changes from today.
What’s Getting Cheaper: Inputs and Essentials
The government has cut import duties on a number of basic food items to ease the burden on low and middle income households. The duty cut on edible oil, one of the most price sensitive items in Bangladeshi kitchens, should lower retail prices modestly within weeks of today’s gazette notification. The emergency relief measures on duty, first introduced during the 2024 inflation spike, also include lower duty on onions, sugar and pulses.
On the industrial front, the lower import duties on raw materials used in the garment and textile sector should help manufacturers keep production costs in check at a time when export competition from Vietnam and India remains intense. Life-saving medicines and locally produced generic drugs are also exempt from VAT in FY27, a decision that will directly benefit patients buying medicines out of pocket from retail pharmacies.
Best for: Households spending a large share of their income on food, cooking oil and essential medicines.
What’s Getting Costlier: Tobacco, Phones And Imports
Cigarettes and tobacco products see a sharp increase in supplementary duties in FY27 – the largest single-year increase in several budgets. The government has pitched this as a public health measure, but for ordinary smokers this will mean an immediate and tangible price increase at the shop counter, especially for lower-tier cigarette brands that have historically been the cheapest.
Customs duties on imported mobile phones will increase in FY27, increasing the retail price of mid-range and premium handsets. The locally assembled smart phones will not be affected and may be even relatively more competitive. Imported cosmetics, perfumes and personal care products, and certain categories of imported electronics and home appliances not produced domestically are also subject to duty increases.
Best for: Anyone thinking of a big purchase — a phone, appliance or imported item — should look at the revised duty before buying.
Mixed Picture: Technology, Domestic Industry and Energy
For technology and energy goods, however, the picture is more complicated. Home solar installation costs will stay down with duty exemptions on solar panels and renewable energy equipment, and off-grid electricity will be more available for rural households. Some brands of television and refrigerator made in Bangladesh are locally made and enjoy the advantage of higher duties on fully built foreign counterparts, still protected by import duties.
Although fuel prices are not directly dictated by the budget, the government’s revised subsidy allocation for energy will impact pump prices in the coming months – worth keeping an eye on if you operate a vehicle or business reliant on diesel or LPG.
Best for: Business owners, farmers with irrigation pumps and households that want to install solar.
How to Check If a Particular Item Is Affected
The budget speech has hundreds of line items, and not all of them make the headlines. A simple way to find out if something you buy regularly has changed:
•National Board of Revenue (NBR) website has the full gazette notification of duty and tax changes
•Check the HS code in the NBR tariff schedule and see if the duty rate for the item has changed.
•For checking the VAT exemption status of medicines one can visit the Directorate General of Drug Administration website under essential drug list.
•Check prices of imported electronics and phones at authorised dealers before and after 1 July to see how retailers are passing on the duty change
Summary: Bangladesh’s FY27 budget brings immediate changes to the price of everyday goods through revised import duties, supplementary taxes, and VAT adjustments. Some items will feel lighter on your wallet from today others will not. Here is the full picture in one place.
