Mar 09, 2009. /Lesprom Network/. Bangladesh paper Mills Association (BPMA) urged the government to waive import duty on the raw materials for paper industries, as The New Nation informed Lesprom Network. BPMA convener Mostafa Jamal Mohiuddin made the plea to the government during a pre-budget meeting with the National Board of Revenue (NBR) at the NBR conference room. He also demanded exemption of VAT from the paper and paper-based products. "Once Bangladesh used to import paper, but at present there are 61 paper and paper-based industries in the country. These industries are now in a position to export paper and paper-based products if the government provides support facilities to this sector," the BPMA convenor said. This will save huge foreign exchange apart from generating employment in the country, he added. Bangladesh Printing Industry Association (BPIA) Chairman Rabbani Jabbar put emphasis on the development of quality of locally produced paper. He also said that import duty waiver could break the "existing syndicate" of the paper industry. Channel-i managing director Faridur Reza Sagar suggested tax waiver to those films that will earn international awards. Abdul Huq of Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) said the government should ensure proper coordination among its various agencies to enhance investment in the country. NBR Chairman Muhammad Abdul Mazid said that local export-oriented industries would have to be saved amid the ongoing worldwide economic meltdown. "For this, the bond facility will have to continue with all the loopholes plugged," he said.