Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics has preliminarily identified more than 96 lakh units of economic households and establishments across the country, said Dildar Hossain,
project director of the Economic Census 2013, on Saturday.
The BBS is conducting 3rd economic census to get most recent data on the non-agro-based economic activities in the country with an aim to portray a more realistic picture of the booming industrial and services sectors.
As part of the census, the BBS has primarily listed 96,03,425 economic households and establishments in the country. Of them, there are 49,43,090 economic households and 46,60,335 economic establishments. Dildar disclosed the information at a meeting with the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry at FBCCI office.
According to BBS, economic household means a household where economic activities such as producing handicrafts, Nakshi Kantha, Sital Pati, toys, pottery, wood works are carried out along with using residential place.
The surveyor will visit these establishments, he said.
The statistical agency has started collecting detailed business data from those establishments in two phases. The body has already collected data in 37 districts. Economic census in another 29 districts will start on May 15.
At the meeting, business leaders expressed concern about the confidentiality of their personal information particularly related to income tax and value-added tax that they will be provided for the census.
They said that many businessmen would be reluctant to provide such information being afraid of harassment in future from different agencies including the Anti-Corruption Commission and the National Board of Revenue.
Businessmen demanded that the BBS ensure confidentiality of that information.
‘We will provide accurate information related to taxpayers identification number and business identification number. But you [BBS] would have to take responsibility to protect us from being harassed,’ said FBCCI president Kazi Akram Uddin Ahmed.
If businessmen think that they will fall in problems by providing such information they will prefer not to provide their tax related information, he said.
‘It will not be acceptable if ACC starts inquiry just few days after giving information to the BBS,’ Akram said.
In response, Statistics and Information Division secretary Nojibur Rahman assured the businessmen that their personal information would not be published.
‘The BBS will keep businessmen’s personal information confidential and it will not use in tax collection or other purpose,’ he said adding that collective information will be used in preparing development policy by the government.
If any BBS official publishes personal information, he or she will be punished, he said.
Under the census, businesses will be asked 27 questions to provide information about their economic activities including types of industries and business, ownership, investment, products, types of marketing, types of machinery used in unit, employees, accounting systems, capital, TIN and BIN.
The survey will end in May and survey result will be published by December and the BBS will publish sector-wise directories of business statistics.
Earlier, the BBS had conducted first economic census in 1986 and second census in 2001 and 2003 in two phases.
FBCCI first vice-president Monowara Hakim Ali, vice-president Helal Uddin, Bangladesh Association of International Recruiting Agencies president Shahjalal Majumder, Bangladesh Merchant Bankers Association president Mohammad A Hafiz, FBCCI directors Mohabbat Ullah, Abdur Razzaque, BBS deputy director general Mizanur Rahman, among others, spoke at the meeting.
-With New Age input
