But it only did so after the government agreed to ditch controversial proposals for substantially higher tariffs on sugar and salt imports.

For the year to June 2004, "the duty on salt now will be 60% instead of 75% and on sugar [it] will be 30% instead of 40%", Finance Minister M. Saifur Rahman told parliament.

During the previous budget year, a 20% import duty had been levied on sugar, while the duty on salt had been 60%.

Economic reform

The budget aimed to bring in 361bn taka (�3.75; $6.18bn) against expenditures of 290bn taka.

It also set out plans for a 203bn taka development program, half of which would be funded by foreign aid.

Late last month, the World Bank called for economic reforms in Bangladesh as it extended a $536m (�325m) credit line to the cash strapped country.

Low income tax

Mr Rahman seemed to resent that he had been unable to raise duties as much as he would have liked.

"Everybody wants development but nobody tries to understand that development is impossible without domestic resource mobilisation," he lamented.

Mr Rahman also agreed not to change the import duty on alcohol, currently up to 350%, and he ditched plans to levy a 10% import duty on taxis with engine sizes in the range 1,350 cc to 2,000 cc.

Income tax was also kept low; professionals will have to pay a minimum 3,600 taka, less than a third of a previous proposal of 12,000 taka.

Awami League, the main opposition party, had boycotted the parliamentary debate.