The government is going to increase the excise duty on bank accounts by 60-62.5% for the fiscal year 2017-18.

Finance Minister AMA Muhith declared the increase as part of his budget speech on Thursday afternoon.

Accounts with a balance between Tk1 lakh and Tk10 lakh at any given time in a year will be slapped with Tk800 excise duty, which is 62.5% up from the existing Tk500.

For accounts with balance between Tk10 lakh and Tk1cr, the excise duty will rise to Tk2,500 from Tk1,500, an increase of 60%.

The charge will be Tk12,000 instead of Tk7,500 for any balance between Tk1cr and Tk5cr.

The accounts that record over Tk5cr in balance will have to pay Tk25,000 as excise duty, instead of the current Tk15,000.

Meanwhile, the accounts that record up to Tk1 lakh in balance, debit or credit, will be exempt from duty. Currently, the exemption applies to balances up to Tk20,000.

“Our government believes in financial empowerment of people and we have adopted a policy of financial inclusion at all levels. Due to this inclusive approach of the government and overall expansion of business activities, the volume of banking transaction is increasing day by day.

Considering this phenomenon and with a goal to generate more revenue from this sector, I propose the changes to be implemented in The Excise and Salt Act, 1944,” said Muhith.