Vice-President of the European Parliament Nicola Beer has met Bangladesh's Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at her hotel suite in Brussels recently. During the meeting, both sides underscored the urgency to end conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza. Also read: PM Hasina highlights AL’s struggles to restore democracy in Bangladesh during discussion with European Commissioner Jutta Urpilainen The Prime Minister stated Bangladesh’s position against wars anywhere in the world, highlighting that women and children suffer the most in wars and conflicts. The European Parliament’s Vice-President underscored closer cooperation between the European Parliament and Bangladesh Parliament, said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Thursday (October 26, 2023). Also read: Bangladesh can support EU’s efforts to diversify production of pharmaceuticals, vaccines: PM tells EIB President Both sides also discussed women’s empowerment, particularly in politics, education and workforce.

Finance Bill 2023 was passed on Sunday (June 25, 2023), dropping the much-debated proposed provision for Tk 2,000 for every TIN holder during submission of their income tax return. Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal moved the bill and it was passed by voice vote. The finance minister accepted some other minor proposals on the finance bill in section 2 and 2-Ka. The other amendment proposals were rejected by a voice vote. Read more: Several reform initiatives on the cards as govt moves to shore up economy The finance minister accepted an amendment scrapping specific duty on import of fuel oil by reinstating the previous tax on value as concerns grow over a significant hike in prices of petroleum products under the new tax measures. The specific duty on oil imports came into effect on June 1, 2023, under the ‘Provisional Collection of Taxes Act 1931 (Act No. XVI of 1931) in the Finance Bill placed before parliament on that day. Customs Duty, VAT and Advance Tax on the import of fuels have been reinstated in the Finance Act 2023, as those were scrapped in the bill. The proposed value-added tax (VAT) on the manufacturing of ballpoint pens has been cut to 5 percent from 15 percent. Read more: e-TIN: Online registration process in Bangladesh In the Finance Bill on June 1, the finance minister proposed Tk 2,000 as minimum tax on those who have no taxable income but need to submit tax returns for availing government services.

The Parliament Secretariat Commission on Tuesday (May 30, 2023) approved a Tk337.60 crore budget for Bangladesh Parliament to spend on its development and non-development activities for 2023-24 fiscal year. The approval was given at the 34th meeting of the Commission held at the Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban with Speaker Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury in the chair. Read more: No new pay scale, govt employees to get 20% dearness allowance in new budget The budget for the next fiscal year is 9.55 percent higher than the main revised budget of the current financial year, which was Tk 308.18 crore. The meeting also projected Tk 361.23 crore for 2024-25 fiscal year while Tk 386.52 crore for 2025-26 fiscal year. Prime Minister and Leader of the House Sheikh Hasina, Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal, Opposition Leader Raushon Ershad, Law, Justice, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Anisul Huq and Chief Whip Noor-e-Alam Chowdhury attended the meeting on special invitation. Read more: Budget FY23-24: Focus should be on tackling macroeconomic challenges, says Dr Atiur Rahman Parliament Secretariat's Secretary KM Abdus Salam placed the agenda of the meeting.

Bangladesh parliament on Thursday morning opened a special session to mark the 50th anniversary of the national legislature. This is also the 22nd session of the 11th Jatiya Sangsad, the parliament. With Speaker Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury in the chair, the session started at around 11:00 am. President Abdul Hamid is scheduled to deliver a memorial speech in the parliament on Friday where he is expeted to highlight the country’s achievement and the role of parliament. Also read: 5-member panel of chairmen nominated by Speaker for 22nd session of 11th Parliament A resolution on the President’s speech will be adopted in the Jatiya Sangsad following discussion by lawmakers, the speaker said in her introductory speech. She referred to the start of the journey of Bangladesh Jatiya Sangsad on April 7, 1973 as a momentous day. “In continuation of this, we are going to celebrate the Golden Jubilee of parliament in 2023. That is why April 7 is an important day for Parliament,” she added. Earlier on March 21, President Abdul Hamid convened the 22nd session. Before the House convened, the Business Advisory Committee of parliament held a meeting with the speaker in the chair and fixed the duration and businesses of the session.  

National Parliament on Thursday passed the Local Government (Amendment) Bill, 2022, aiming to strictly follow the system of holding pourosova polls every five years. Local Government Minister Tajul Islam placed the Bill in Parliament and it was passed with a voice vote. The bill will become law only after it gets a presidential assent. Read:JS passes bill to make Bangladesh museums more dynamic And once the President signs the bill into law, all pouroshova chairmen will be barred from staying in office for more than five years. The bill comes as a major blow to those who resort to different tactics to stay on as pourosova chairmen for years -- some seek legal recourse at the end of their tenure to halt the holding of the next election. This way, few chairmen have stayed in office for more than five years, up to even 15 years. Once the amendments come into effect, the Act will empower the government to appoint an administrator after the term of a local government body expires. And the administrator will be able to remain in the post for a maximum of six months and hold elections by that time. The Bill also intends to change the designation of the pourosova member to pouro executive officer. Read: Bill placed in JS to bring discipline in private medical, dental colleges Furthermore, a clause in the Bill says that if any pourosova fails to pay the salaries and other wages of its officers and employees for 12 months, then the government may abolish its status. As per the Bill, a pourosova can be established if the number of inhabitants every square kilometre is 2,000, from the earlier figure of 1,500.

Speaker Dr Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury left Dhaka for Rome on Thursday to participate in the pre-COP26 parliamentary conference. The Speaker will lead a delegation of Bangladesh Parliament in the two-day conference scheduled to begin in Rome on Friday. The other delegation members are Whip Iqbalur Rahim, MP, Chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on the Ministry of Food, Dipankar Talukder MP, Jafar Alam, MP and Secretary of the Jatiya Sangsad Secretariat KM Abdus Salam. Read: Hasina’s climate leadership lauded at CVF-COP26 dialogue After wrapping up her visit to Rome, the Speaker will join the 3rd Eurasian Women's Forum at Saint Petersburg in Russia on October 13-15. Whip Iqbalur Rahim, MP, Adiba Anjum Mita, MP, and Khodeza Nasrin Akhter Hossen, MP will also participate in the forum. Read: Dhaka, London discuss shared priorities ahead of COP26 The Speaker is expected to return home on October 17, said a handout.

French Senator and President of the Inter-Parliamentary Friendship Group for South East Asia Jacqueline Deromedi has lauded Bangladesh’s progress saying that Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman ‘today would be proud of the country he had built’.

The 11th national parliament lost Tk 22,08,63,627 in monetary value of time lost due to quorum crisis (19.26 hours) throughout session one to five, a Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) report said Wednesday.

The Parliament and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Bangladesh on Tuesday virtually launched the country’s first ‘My Constituency’ data platform, web and mobile-based application for Members of Parliament to measure the progress of SDGs.