Energy Reporter
Bangladesh, Jan 8, 2026: Amid an ongoing shortage of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) across the country, the Ministry of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources has proposed reducing value-added tax (VAT) on LPG imports from 15 percent to 10 percent in a bid to ease market pressure.
On Thursday (January 8), the Energy and Mineral Resources Division formally sent a letter to National Board of Revenue (NBR) Chairman Abdur Rahman Khan, requesting the VAT cut at the import stage. The ministry also proposed the withdrawal of the existing 7.5 percent VAT imposed on locally produced LPG.
Although the NBR has acknowledged receipt of the proposal, no decision has yet been made. A senior official from the NBR’s VAT wing said on condition of anonymity that the matter is under consideration, but a final stance has not been taken.
LPG traders withdraw nationwide strike
Meanwhile, LPG traders have withdrawn their previously announced indefinite nationwide strike on LPG marketing and distribution. The decision was announced on Thursday following a meeting at the office of the Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission (BERC).
Speaking to journalists after the meeting, LP Gas Traders Cooperative Society Limited President Mohammad Selim Khan said the organisation had decided to suspend the strike after discussions with the regulator.
During the meeting, trader representatives placed three demands before the commission: an end to ongoing administrative enforcement drives, an increase in distribution and retail margins, and assurance of uninterrupted LPG supply across the country.
BERC Chairman Jalal Ahmed said the commission would engage with the administration regarding the ongoing drives and take legal steps to review distribution charges. He also noted that LPG operators had informed the commission about alternative import arrangements despite vessel shortages, expressing hope that supply conditions may improve within the next week.
However, Selim Khan argued that traders are being forced to buy cylinders from operators at prices exceeding Tk 1,300, making it impossible to sell a 12kg LPG cylinder for less than Tk 1,500.
In contrast, the BERC chairman said he sees no justification for selling LPG above the government-fixed January price of Tk 1,306 per 12kg cylinder.
The traders’ cooperative had announced on Wednesday that LPG cylinder sales would remain suspended nationwide from Thursday morning until their demands were addressed.
The cooperative is a key player in LPG cylinder distribution across the country. Field inquiries earlier on Thursday indicated that LPG sales were halted in Dhaka, Gazipur, Sylhet, Sunamganj, Moulvibazar and Habiganj, while sales continued in several other districts.
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