Bike registration fee halved
The federal government yesterday slashed motorcycle registration costs by half, a demand very long being made by two-wheeler makers.
From now on, motorcycles of engine capacities as high as 100cc will definitely cost Tk 2,000 to be registered, down 52 per cent from Tk 4,200.
For all those over 100cc, the cost cut has been 46 per cent to Tk 3,000 from Tk 5,600, said Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA).
This is likely to boost motorcycle sales which includes been downed in recent times for the first time in three years because the government slashed supplementary duty on component import by 25 percentage points to 20 % to inspire domestic production.
Sales dropped 11 % year-on-year to 4.7 lakh systems in 2020 from nearly 5.30 lakh units, confirmed info from the Bangladesh Motorcycle Assemblers and Manufacturers Association.
"Both the federal government and users will come to be benefited…Now every person will register their motorcycles found in rural areas," stated Hafizur Rahman Khan, chairman of Runner Group, a good pioneer of the sector in Bangladesh.
The BRTA's proposal was a reduced amount of 4.9 per cent for those beneath the first category which bear the average price of Tk 90,000 and of 8.4 % for the others designed for around Tk 2 lakh.
In Bangladesh, the motorcycle registration fee is a mixture of costs for registering and inspecting the vehicle alongside a road tax with a two-year validity.
A public-private joint financial dialogue between Bangladesh and Japan in August last year decided to lower the registration expense. The Prime Minister's Office then simply directed the BRTA to create recommendations.
Khan said the government would gain more income as the price reduction would get a growing number of folks in rural areas more inclined towards registering their two-wheelers.
"Next year the number of motorcycles registered with the BRTA will increase. We are pleased…(and the) effects will fall on the market," he said.
Regarding highway accidents involving motorcycles, sector people say the two-wheelers were not solely at fault. Rather, there were other factors like a lack of awareness about driving vehicles and safe practices.
Abdul Matlub Ahmad, chairman of Nitol-Niloy Group which makes the Hero brand of motorcycle, said consumers, the government and industry would benefit.
The glad tidings are that the center class who use motorcycles for easy movement will be benefited, he said.
Shah Muhammad Ashequr Rahman, head of finance and commercial, Bangladesh Honda Private, said due to the effective initiatives of the government in reducing prices of motorcycles, the vehicle has developed into necessity rather than something of luxury.
"Reducing the registration service fees is one of the advance developments to help make the motorcycle right into a necessity item for the daily mobility that will contribute to run the wheels of the economy," he said.
"We expect the other costs linked to motorcycle registrations costs like digital sign up certificate, retro-reflective quantity plate with RFID tag, inspection service fees, 15 percent supplementary duty, road tax (for a decade) and VAT will get reviewed gradually," he added.
