Finance Adviser Dr Salehuddin Ahmed today (June 2) announced the proposed national budget for the 2025–26 fiscal year.

In a televised speech, he outlined various changes in duties and taxes that will lead to both price increases and decreases on different goods and services.

Items likely to get expensive

The price of cigarettes, online shopping, construction rods, cosmetics, soap, shampoo, children's toys, locally made mobile phones, plastic household items, LPG and LPG cylinders, flats, pens, helicopter services, and many kitchen and home electronics like washing machines, microwave ovens, ovens, blenders, kettles, irons, rice cookers, and pressure cookers may go up.

Prices may also rise for blades, lifts, OTT content, commercial buildings, paper products, yarn, man-made fibre, nuts and bolts, surgical tools, ship scrap, cement sheets, credit rating services, three-wheeler batteries, and set-top boxes.

Items likely to get cheaper

Sugar, sanitary napkins, ice cream, land registration fees, newsprint, cancer medicines, insulin, LNG, tyres, locally made electric bikes, clay pots, paper plates, large monitors made locally, air travel fares, and lithium-graphene batteries may become cheaper.

This is the first time since the 1990s that the national budget has been presented outside Parliament in a new format. The speech was broadcast live on BTV and private TV channels. The 2025–26 fiscal year will begin on July 1, and the budget is expected to be passed on June 30.

Previously, a similar out-of-parliament budget presentation took place in 2008 during the military-backed caretaker government.

MSK/