Pre-Budget Meeting Fy 2014-15
Demands for tax, duty benefits galore
Like previous years, most of the stakeholders from private sectors who attended the pre-budget discussions with the National Board of Revenue on Thursday sought tax and duty benefits in the coming national budget for the year 2014-15. Though the revenue board organises the meetings to get opinion on structural issues of revenue budget to prepare a pro-people and business-friendly budget and remove inconsistencies in tax measures, the meetings hardly help the tax authorities, officials of the NBR said.
Most of the stakeholders concentrate only on their own business areas and do not provide any suggestion on overall budget structure that do not fulfill the main objectives of the revenue board, they said.
As part of preparing the budget for 2014-15 financial year, the NBR on the day held discussions at different sessions with representatives from around 40 sectors including pharmaceuticals, toiletries, chemicals, paint, leather, cosmetics, electronics, electrical, computer, ICT and telecommunication sectors.
At a session, Bangladesh Association of Software and Information Services demanded extension of corporate tax exemption for at least 10 years, withdrawal of value-added tax on information technology enabled services and transactions based on e-commerce.
Internet Service Providers Association of Bangladesh sought VAT exemption on internet and data transmission and duty exemption on import of transmission equipments. ISPAB president Akhtaruzzaman Manju placed the proposal.
Bangladesh Computer Samity demanded for reduction of corporate tax to 25 per cent from the current 37.5 per cent.
Telecommunication Infrastructure Operators of Bangladesh urged that the NBR should reduce tax at source on International Gateway and Interconnection Exchange to 0.60 per cent from the existing 1 per cent and 5 per cent respectively.
TIOB president Mir Nasir Hossain also sought tax holiday facility for five years for the new IGW and ICX service providers.
In a separate meeting, Bangladesh Refrigerator Manufacturers Association proposed the NBR should increase supplementary duty on import of refrigerator and freezer to 60 per cent from the current 30 per cent to give protection to local manufacturers and attract new investments in the sector.
Bangladesh Electronics Merchants Association, however, demanded the NBR should reduce duty on import of refrigerator in order to create a level playing field for importers as they have to pay 108 per cent duty on import of refrigerators while local manufacturers pay only 14 per cent taxes.
Bangladesh Association of Pharmaceutical Industries demanded that the NBR should provide VAT exemption on kidney dialysis solution at production level and on import of raw materials for producing insulin, anticancer products, vaccines and contraceptive pills to make local industries capable to compete with imported medicines.
It also demanded for reduction of duties on import of empty hard gelatine capsules to 10 per cent from 30 per cent.
Bangladesh Private Medical College Association vice-president Enamur Rahman demanded that the NBR should withdraw the income tax on private medical colleges considering those as non-profitable organisations.
Bangladesh Leather, Leather Goods and Footwear Exporters Association president Abu Taher demanded for abolition of supervised bond system for the sector and introduction of general bond system providing Utilisation Declaration power to the association.
Bangladesh Jewellers Samity sought permission for importing at least 2kg gold by legal jewellers under the existing baggage rules and reduction of VAT on diamond import.
NBR chairman Ghulam Hussain and member Syed Aminul Karim presided over the different sessions.
-With New Age input
