Dhaka, June 18 -- Incentives Inverted: Hidden Export Penalty?

The 27.5 percent hit: Recasting incentives as advance tax hikes the total effective rate from 10 percent to 27.5 percent for struggling exporters

Strained sectors: The garment industry faces intense pressure as the new burden hits during prolonged declines in export earnings

Timing turmoil: Introduced with just weeks left in the accounting cycle, the shift forces sudden, retrospective financial changes

Exporters face a sharply higher tax burden on incentive earnings under a proposed budget change that reclassifies a key support mechanism.

The shift could add pressure on a sector already grappling with slowing export growth.

At the centre of concern is a proposed amendment...