The government has reduced VAT and duty on import of  rice, edible oil, sugar, and dates ahead of holy month of Ramadan. The National Board of Revenue (NBR) issued four gazette notifications reducing the customs duties on these essential items from a minimum of 5 percent to a maximum of 47 percent. According to the notifications, rice import duty and tax have been reduced by 47.25 percent. The duty has been reduced from 62.50 percent to 15.25 percent. Out of this, supplementary duty has been cut by 20 percent. Bangladesh seeks IFAD support to boost wheat and edible oil production This tax reduction will be applicablein the import of boiled and non-boiled rice. However, prior to importing rice at subsidized rates, written approval must be taken from an official of minimum joint secretary rank of the Ministry of Food for each shipment. The tax reduction facility will be valid till May 15, 2024. On the other hand, the Value Added Tax on refined and crude (non-refined) soybean and palm oil has been reduced to 10 percent from 15 percent, which will be in force till April 15. Govt to import 12,500 MT of sugar from US For sugar import, the fixed duty has been reduced from Tk 1,500 to Tk 1,000 per metric ton. This facility will be valid till March 31 as per NBR notification. Besides, the import duty on date has been reduced from 58 percent to 43 percent.. It will remain in force till March 30. One crore TCB card holder families to get 5 kg rice at Tk 30 from July In the cabinet meeting held at the Prime Minister's office on January 29, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina ordered reduction of duty on edible oil, sugar, dates, and rice on the occasion of Ramadan. On January 22, the Ministry of Commerce wrote to National Board of Revenue (NBR) to exempt tax on rice, edible oil, sugar, and dates.

Another season of the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) is waiting to start in the new year, and fans are already buzzing with excitement. The ninth edition of this franchise-based T20 tournament will kick off on January 6, with the match between Chittagong Challengers and Sylhet Strikers. This year’s tournament is sure to be a thrilling spectacle, with some of the biggest names in cricket set to take the field. The BPL has always been known for its star-studded line-ups, and this year is no exception. Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) announced the complete schedule of the 2023 BPL on Saturday. This article will cover the BPL 2023 event's complete schedule, key players for each BPL team, and venues. Read More: BPL 2023: Ticket prices for first phase revealed BPL 2023 at a Glance Opening Match: January 6, 2023. Final Match: February 16, 2023 Duration: 42 days Cricket Format: T20 Tournament Format: Double round-robin and playoffs Number of Teams: 7 Total Match: 46 Venues: Dhaka, Chittagong, Sylhet. Read More: BPL 2023: Salahuddin laments lack of DRS BPL 2023: Complete Schedule Table: Schedule of BPL 2023 Date Match Venue Time Jan 06, Fri Chattogram Challengers vs Sylhet Strikers Sher-E-Bangla National Cricket Stadium 02:30 PM   Comilla Victorians vs Rangpur Riders Sher-E-Bangla National Cricket Stadium 07:15 PM Jan 07, Sat Dhaka Dominators vs Khulna Tigers Sher-E-Bangla National Cricket Stadium 02:00 PM   Fortune Barishal vs Sylhet Strikers Sher-E-Bangla National Cricket Stadium 07:00 PM Jan 09, Mon Comilla Victorians vs Sylhet Strikers Sher-E-Bangla National Cricket Stadium 02:00 PM   Chattogram Challengers vs Khulna Tigers Sher-E-Bangla National Cricket Stadium 07:00 PM Jan 10, Tue Fortune Barishal vs Rangpur Riders Sher-E-Bangla National Cricket Stadium 02:00 PM   Dhaka Dominators vs Sylhet Strikers Sher-E-Bangla National Cricket Stadium 07:00 PM Jan 13, Fri Chattogram Challengers vs Fortune Barishal Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium 02:30 PM   Khulna Tigers vs Rangpur Riders Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium 07:15 PM Jan 14, Sat Comilla Victorians vs Fortune Barishal Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium 02:00 PM   Chattogram Challengers vs Dhaka Dominators Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium 07:00 PM Jan 16, Mon Dhaka Dominators vs Sylhet Strikers Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium 02:00 PM   Chattogram Challengers vs Comilla Victorians Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium 07:00 PM Jan 17, Tue Khulna Tigers vs Rangpur Riders Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium 02:00 PM   Comilla Victorians vs Sylhet Strikers Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium 07:00 PM Jan 19, Thu Comilla Victorians vs Dhaka Dominators Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium 02:00 PM   Fortune Barishal vs Rangpur Riders Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium 07:00 PM Jan 20, Fri Chattogram Challengers vs Khulna Tigers Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium 02:30 PM   Dhaka Dominators vs Fortune Barishal Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium 07:15 PM Jan 23, Mon Chattogram Challengers vs Rangpur Riders Sher-E-Bangla National Cricket Stadium 02:00 PM   Comilla Victorians vs Dhaka Dominators Sher-E-Bangla National Cricket Stadium 07:00 PM Jan 24, Tue Fortune Barishal vs Sylhet Strikers Sher-E-Bangla National Cricket Stadium 02:00 PM   Khulna Tigers vs Dhaka Dominators Sher-E-Bangla National Cricket Stadium 07:00 PM Jan 27, Fri Rangpur Riders vs Sylhet Strikers, 25th Match Sylhet International Cricket Stadium 02:30 PM   Chattogram Challengers vs Fortune Barishal Sylhet International Cricket Stadium 07:15 PM Jan 28, Sat Comilla Victorians vs Khulna Tigers Sylhet International Cricket Stadium 02:00 PM   Chattogram Challengers vs Sylhet Strikers Sylhet International Cricket Stadium 07:00 PM Jan 30, Mon Dhaka Dominators vs Rangpur Riders Sylhet International Cricket Stadium 02:00 PM   Khulna Tigers vs Sylhet Strikers Sylhet International Cricket Stadium 07:00 PM Jan 31, Tue Dhaka Dominators vs Fortune Barishal Sylhet International Cricket Stadium 02:00 PM   Comilla Victorians vs Khulna Tigers Sylhet International Cricket Stadium 07:00 PM Feb 03, Fri Fortune Barishal vs Khulna Tigers Sher-E-Bangla National Cricket Stadium 02:30 PM   Dhaka Dominators vs Rangpur Riders Sher-E-Bangla National Cricket Stadium 07:15 PM Feb 04, Sat Chattogram Challengers vs Comilla Victorians Sher-E-Bangla National Cricket Stadium 02:00 PM   Rangpur Riders vs Sylhet Strikers Sher-E-Bangla National Cricket Stadium 07:00 PM Feb 07, Tue Chattogram Challengers vs Dhaka Dominators Sher-E-Bangla National Cricket Stadium 02:00 PM   Comilla Victorians vs Fortune Barishal Sher-E-Bangla National Cricket Stadium 07:00 PM Feb 08, Wed Khulna Tigers vs Sylhet Strikers Sher-E-Bangla National Cricket Stadium 02:00 PM   Rangpur Riders vs Chattogram Challengers Sher-E-Bangla National Cricket Stadium 07:00 PM Feb 10, Fri Comilla Victorians vs Rangpur Riders Sher-E-Bangla National Cricket Stadium 02:00 PM   Fortune Barishal vs Khulna Tigers Sher-E-Bangla National Cricket Stadium 07:00 PM Feb 12, Sun Eliminator Sher-E-Bangla National Cricket Stadium 02:00 PM   1st Qualifier Sher-E-Bangla National Cricket Stadium 07:00 PM Feb 14, Tue 2nd Qualifier Sher-E-Bangla National Cricket Stadium 07:15 PM Feb 16, Thu Final Sher-E-Bangla National Cricket Stadium 07:15 PM Read More: BPL 2023: All Teams Squad, Captain, Players List details A total of 46 matches will be played in the 42-day cricket festival of seven teams. The matches will take place in three venues in  Dhaka, Chittagong, and Sylhet.. Two matches, one during the day and one during the night, will be played each day until the eliminator.As usual, this year’s BPL will start with the Dhaka phase. In week days the the first match of the day will begin at 2 PM. The second match will be played at 7 PM in the evening. However, taking into account the audience on Friday, the BCB has slightly delayed the start time of the match. Friday’s matches will start at 2.30 PM. The evenging games will also start a bit later on this day of the week; instead of 7 PM, those matches will be played at 7:15 PM. BPL 2023 will start with the match between Chittagong Challengers and Sylhet Strikers at Mirpur Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium at 2:30 PM on January 6. Like the beginning, the Dhaka phase will also end with the Sylhet match, and the BPL will move to Chittagong after their match against Dhaka Dominators on the night of January 10. Read More: 7 local cricketers get direct contracts in 2023 BPL In the first match of the Chittagong phase, Fortune Barisal will fight against the hosts on January 13. The match will start at 2:30 PM. Barisal will also play the last match of this phase against Dhaka on the night of January 20. After that, BPL will return to Dhaka again. After the four matches on January 23 and 24, the Sylhet phase will commence, with hosts Sylhet battling Rangpur Riders in the first match of the day on January 27. This phase will end with the match between Comilla Victorians and Khulna Tigers on January 31. The Dhaka phase will start again with the match between Barisal and Khulna on February 3. All the remaining matches till the final will be held in Mirpur. The eliminator games will take place on February 12 at 2 PM, with the first qualifier for it beginning at 7 PM on the same day. The second qualifier will occur on February 14. Read More: BPL: From “world’s second-best” to “best domestic” league The second qualifier for the 2023 BPL will be held on February 14, with the final two days later on February 16. One reserve day will be each for the eliminator, qualifier, and final matches. How to Watch BPL 2023 Live? Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) 2023 will be broadcast live on T-Sports and GTV. On these two channels from Bangladesh, enjoy the live game. If you are outside the country, you can watch BPL live on the following channels. Also, BPL can be watched from all over the world on Rabbitholebd Sports. BPL 2023 Key Players While there were no icon players in the auction, some players can take their team to the final. Let’s see some of the icon players in 2023 BPL. Taskin Ahmed Taskin Ahmed will play for Dhaka Dominators this season. He played for Sylhet Sunrisers last season but could not continue playing for them due to injury. So, he aims to give his full effort to perform his best. Read More: BPL 2023: Mahmudullah in Barishal, Mushfiqur in Sylhet Afif Hussain Chattogram Challengers’ 2022 BPL captain Afif Hussain will also play for the same team this year. Despite not winning the title, the young batsman’s leadership caught the attention of the franchise. Chittagong is relying on Afif for this season of BPL. Litton Das With his recent deal with Kolkata Knight Riders, Litton Das will be playing more confidently with his BPL team Comilla Victorians. Since Litton has had great form recently, Comilla can expect an uninterrupted performance from him as the team is starting the tournament as defending champion. Shakib Al Hasan BPL 2022’s player of the series, Shakib Al Hasan, will surely put all his effort into Fortune Barishal. Apart from this, he won the five players of the match award. And he was also the third most wicket taker with 16 wickets. Read More: BPL 2023: What Mashrafe, Perara and Amir can bring to Sylhet Strikers Tamim Iqbal Last year played for Minister Dhaka, and Tamim Iqbal will play for Khulna Tigers this year. Tamim had an excellent BPL season in 2022. With a total of 407 runs in 9 matches, Tamim was the third most run in the tournament. Mashrafe Bin Murtaza Mashrafe Bin Mortuza will be the icon and captain of Sylhet Strikers in BPL 2023. Although Mashrafe could not shine for Minister Dhaka in the 2022 season, he may lead Sylhet this year with his brilliant captaincy. Mahmudullah Riyad Mahmudullah will play for fortune Barishal. Although he did not get the team by direct sign-up, Mahmudullah has participated in all the seasons of BPL. With an average strike rate of more than 100, Mahmudullah has been consistent in BPL. He had some incredible performances with two players of the match award in last year’s BPL for Minister Dhaka. Mushfiqur Rahim Mushfiqur Rahim will be a key player for Sylhet Strikers this season. Although he did not have a good season last year with Khulna Tigers, this year, he is expected to put his full effort with Captain Mashrafe’s direction. Not to mention, Mushfiqur Rahim was the second player in BPL to touch the 2000 runs milestone in 2020. Nurul Hasan Sohan Nurul Hasan played for fortune Barishal last year and will play for Rangpur Raiders this year. Rangpur signed him up directly to be the captain of the team. Read IPL Auction 2023: Sold Players List, Team, Major Players to watchMore:  BPL 2023 Venues BPL will be played in three venues Sher-E-Bangla National Cricket Stadium, Dhaka; Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium, Chittagong; and Sylhet International Cricket Stadium. Sher-E-Bangla National Cricket Stadium It is also known as Mirpur stadium. Sher-E-Bangla National Cricket Stadium will host 26 matches of BPL 2023, including the opening match and final match of the tournament. It has a capacity of around 26,000 which means around 26,000 people can enjoy a BPL match at a time on this ground. Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium This stadium will host 12 BPL matches in the 2023 season. Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium has a 22,000 capacity. Since the beginning of BPL, it has been one of the main venues for BPL. Apart from BPL, this stadium also hosted numerous international cricket tournaments. Read More: 2022 Cricket Year Review: A Flashback of the Major Events  Sylhet International Cricket Stadium With an 18,500 capacity, Sylhet International Cricket Stadium will host 8 BPL matches in 2023. It hosted BPL for the first time in 2017. Apart from BPL, Sylhet hosted the 2014 ICC World Twenty20 and 2014 ICC Women’s World Twenty20. Final Words Since this year’s winter seems to be more severe than previous years, there are possibilities to change the BPL 2023 schedule due to fog and extreme weather. However, if everything is alright, this schedule and order of matches and time will remain active.

Chattogram Customs in a recent investigation found out that a company has tried to evade Tk 7 .11 crore revenue by importing cigarettes behind dates from Dubai. The consignment had 55,52,400 sticks of Mound cigarettes worth Tk 1.19 Crore, said MD Sharfuddin Mia, Deputy Commissioner of Chattogram Customs House. He said the information was revealed on Sunday during a physical examination at Ispahani Summit Alliance Terminals Limited at Sagarika. Also read: Customs officials recover firearms, ammo hidden in household goods at Ctg port According to customs, a 40 feet container supposed to be filled with dates was shipped on December 27, last year from Jebel Ali port in Dubai and it reached Chattogram Port on December 30. The consignment was imported by Suchona International owned by Jahangir Alam from Boktopur in Fatikchhari upazila in Chattogram. After the importer did not submit a bill of entry for four months and the container was lying at the yard, Customs officials conducted a physical test Sunday which revealed the irregularity. Among the 2,772 cartons in the container 1,983 had cigarettes which were hidden behind 789 cartons of dates. Also read: Customs hotline starts test operation for ASYCUDA related service MD Sharfuddin Mia said, “In fear of detective surveillance the importer could not release the consignment of cigarettes from the port. Strict legal actions will be taken against importer Suchona International for trying to evade revenue.”

In Jashore's Khajura area, dozens of date palm trees sway gently in the winter wind. A fearless Faisal prepares to scale few such trees with extension buckets to bring down the fruit of his labour -- date sap that's taken fresh or processed into jaggery, a winter delicacy in Bangladesh. But this date palm climber, who does his job with deceptive ease using only a rope-like harness looped around his feet, does not want his children to learn his rare skills. Read: Rebased GDP now official in national accounting "Already many date farmers have sold their trees due to scarcity of climbers. We want our children to study and bag a decent job," says Faisal. "Of course, some did sell their trees to fight poverty." Also, with the number of trees declining in the district, another climber Sadiq Hossain says the dictum -- Jashorer josh, khejurer rosh" (Jashore's pride is its date syrup) -- may soon become a proverb of the past. "Two decades ago, this area was dotted with date trees. Over these 20 years, the situation has changed. Date palm syrup is increasingly becoming scarce," he claims. Read Delicious Winter Pithas in Bangladesh: Where Savory, and Innovation Meets Tradition