Proposed tax and customs concessions for renewable energy in Bangladesh’s record BDT 9.38 trillion budget are structured to benefit a limited set of solar power producers, while leaving most solar users outside their scope, the country’s main sustainable-energy trade association alleged on Sunday.

The Bangladesh Sustainable and Renewable Energy Association (BSREA) said an analysis of the National Board of Revenue’s statutory regulatory order issued after the budget speech showed the incentives were confined to select solar power generation companies and firms supplying electricity under the RESCO model. Residential consumers, farm-sector solar irrigation, small businesses and most other solar users were said to be outside the scope of the incentives, the group told a press conference by Dhaka Reporters Unity.

The exclusion could hinder expansion of the country’s solar sector and make the 2030 renewable-energy target uncertain, the association said.

BSREA leaders said a large share of Bangladesh’s renewable-energy market had been driven by importers, distributors, dealers, retailers, EPC contractors and customers who finance their own solar installations. These groups did not receive effective concessions under the current incentive framework, they said, putting thousands of businesses and jobs at risk.

Photo: Bonik Barta

The association said the existing structure covered 20 to 22 percent of the country’s electricity consumption, while roughly 63 percent of all electricity users — residential, agricultural and small commercial customers — received no direct benefit.

A perception had emerged among the public that duties on solar panels and related equipment had been fully withdrawn and prices had fallen, BSREA said, while in reality the tax and duty structure for most solar products remained largely unchanged. The gap had created confusion in the market and placed traders under pressure, it added.

The association further complained that the budget and the accompanying SRO offered no effective new incentives for solar irrigation, solar street lighting or battery energy storage systems. It said the country had about 1.7 million diesel-powered irrigation pumps but the budget contained no financial incentives or action plan to convert them to solar.

“Renewable energy is not a special concession for any particular business group; it is tied to the energy security of every citizen,” BSREA President Mostafa Al Mahmud said at the press conference. “The incentive structure must therefore be equally open to all.”