Resorts, hotels and businesses will have to use electronic fiscal devices (EFD) from the next fiscal year -- a move the revenue authorities have taken to combat value-added tax evasion.

Finance Minister AMA Muhith becomes the first finance minister in Bangladesh history to present 10 consecutive national budgets.

Finance Minister AMA Muhith today proposes to re-impose 25 per cent customs duty and 3 per cent regulatory duty on rice imports to protect the farmers as the country got a bumper paddy production in the boro season.

Power and energy division occupies about 5.3 per cent of the biggest ever budget placed at the parliament.

Finance Minister AMA Muhith sets a goal to allocate 20 percent of total budget for children by 2020 as part of mainstreaming children development in the national planning and budgeting.

Fresh duty schemes have been drawn up on cosmetics and toiletries items, which is expected to push the prices of such items higher.

The government has set a target of 7.8 per cent GDP growth for the next fiscal year.

Finance Minister AMA Muhith has opted to go green and discourage people from using polythene products and poly-packaging.

Bad news for the middle-income group as the government is opted to impose higher VAT rates for smaller apartments at a time when sales have picked up.

​Finance Minister Abul Maal Abdul Muhith rolls out a Tk 4,64,573 crore national budget for fiscal year 2018-19 setting the GDP growth target at 7.8 percent and outlining a set of plans-strategies to build a prosperous, happy and peaceful country.

Finance Minister Abul Maal Abdul Muhith will address a post budget press briefing tomorrow, according to a finance ministry press release.

The boom in the manufacturing sector, especially in the developing countries has been a boon to the GDP growth of many traditionally consumer-oriented economies.

Bangladesh should be justifiably proud of its development achievements and this progress accelerated over the past decade.

As we understand, budgets are drawn up to prioritise where to spend money and how to do it. It is also about how to collect that money. The end result would be growth, prosperity and a people better equipped to face the tomorrow.

The budget implementation rate has been falling consistently for the last seven fiscal years, exposing poor capacity of government agencies and the widening gap between planning and execution.

Job creation has become imperative given the rising unemployment among graduates and a sizeable young demographic. But those who are supposed to create the much-needed jobs, the business community, finds a quick survey by The Daily Star to gauge the expectations of the business community from the budget for fiscal 2018-19.