14pc less income at import level in December
Rejaul Karim Byron
Revenue income at import level dropped by about 14 percent in last December due to the impact of the global economic recession creating an apprehension whether the country’s revenue target will be achieved or not in the current fiscal year.
Due to the meltdown, the overall revenue collection stood at 13.24 percent against the target of 19 percent in the first six months of the current fiscal. The National Board of Revenue (NBR) in a report sent to the finance minister said achieving the revenue target is the biggest challenge in the backdrop of the negative impact of the ongoing world economic crisis.
It also said considering the continuous rise of commodity prices in the world economy, the rate of import duty was reduced in the current budget. But as the world economy experienced recession in the last three to four months and the commodity price fell in the world markets, the realisation of import duty and tax started falling suddenly.
Besides, there is an apprehension that VAT and income tax realisation will also face negative impact due to the recession, it said adding the overall target in the fiscal will also face the same challenge.
In the first six months (July to December) of the current fiscal, overall revenue collection was Tk 22,363 crore against the target of Tk 54,500 crore.
Of the collected revenue, at import level in last December, revenue collection was Tk 198 crore, which is less than the realisation of December ’07. However, revenue collection growth at import level in the six months is 11.94 per cent while at local level it is 13.14. Income tax growth is the only exception during the period at 17.24 per cent.
The NBR report said, revenue collection worth Tk 2,500 crore is pending for 20,000 under-trial cases.
The report suggested settlement of the cases after taking various measures in the court and outside of the court.
It stressed effective coordination among the NBR, ministry of law and the office of the attorney general for settlement of the cases. It also recommended appointment of noted lawyers for the important cases.
Courtesy: thedailystar.net
