Federation
of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry president Kazi Akram Uddin
Ahmed on Monday demanded that the National Board of Revenue expand the VAT net
up to rural level to increase revenue collection and reduce pressure on
businesses in urban areas.
At
a seminar on ‘New Value-Added Tax and Supplementary Duty Act-2012,’ he urged
the tax officials and business people to create awareness among the traders to
pay VAT properly instead of creating panic on the new VAT act.
Customs
Excise and VAT Commissinerate, Dhaka (West) organised the seminar at Mirpur in
Dhaka to create awareness among traders on the new VAT act which is scheduled
to come into effect from July 2016.
Kazi
Akram also reiterated business community’s demand for not imposing single rate
VAT for all sectors at 15 per cent.
‘We
are negotiating with the government for adjustment of VAT rate,’ he said.
The
FBCCI president said, ‘In recent years, businesses have also been flourishing
in rural areas. So, the revenue board should pay their attention to rural areas
for expanding the VAT net.’
At
the meeting, businessmen from different sectors raised their concern about the
single VAT rate and sought explanations on some issues related to
implementation of the new law.
Top
officials of the revenue board replied to their queries and presented positive
aspects of the law.
They
said the traders would be able to complete all procedures starting from getting
registration to payment VAT to receiving refund and rebate online and they
would not need to visit VAT office for any purposes.
The
VAT payment procedures will become easy after implementation of the law as it
will make non-obligatory many measures including maintaining current account
register and declaration of prices of goods which usually created hassle for
traders, they said.
NBR
member Firoz Shah Alam, LTU (VAT) commissioner Shahnaz Parveen, Customs Excise
and VAT Commissionerate, Dhaka (West) Saiful Islam, additional commissioner
Mustoba Ali, joint commissioner Shameem Ara Begum and local traders and
representatives from different trade associations also spoke at the meeting. (Source: New Age, March
31, 2015)