TAX DISPUTESA
NBR, BTRC, telcos to form body for consensus
After weeklong negotiations, the National Board of Revenue and the mobile phone operators on Thursday agreed to resolve the long-standing tax disputes, especially the SIM replacement tax, before the 3G auction scheduled for September 2, operators and NBR officials said.
Leaders of the Association of Mobile Telephone Operators of Bangladesh on the day held separate daylong meetings, for the third day in the week, with NBR chairman Ghulam Hussain and other officials to settle different tax related issues of the telecom industry ahead of the auction.
Both the parties decided to form a tripartite committee to examine further the issue related to SIM replacement tax worth Tk 3,100 crore that the NBR’s large taxpayers’ unit (VAT) had claimed from the four mobile operators — Grameenphone, Banglalink, Robi, Airtel — more than one and half years ago, officials said.
The committee headed by a first secretary of the revenue board will be formed comprising representatives from the NBR, Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission and mobile operators, they said.
‘The NBR is likely to form the committee on Sunday after getting approval from its chairman. The chairman may also approve the meeting’s decisions adding some directives,’ a NBR official told New Age.
‘We do not see any other problem for the companies to participate in the 3G auction,’ he said.
NBR officials said that at the meeting mobile operators demanded that the NBR present a roadmap on tax regime for 3G operation periods so that the investors could feel safe while making investments in 3G technology.
The NBR, however, made a counter-proposal to the operators for outlining their investment and technology inception plan, adding that the NBR would take tax-related decision for the industry examining its roadmap, added the officials.
‘We had long discussions with the NBR chairman and other officials and almost agreed regarding the issues. We hope all the unsettled issues will be solved before the 3G auction and create an amiable environment for us to participate in the auction,’ AMTOB secretary general TIM Nurul Kabir told New Age after the meeting.
Both the parties also agreed to examine jointly the technical issues over SIM replacement tax to eliminate misunderstanding and disputes, he said.
‘We want withdrawal of VAT on 3G so that our investments become viable. Mobile operators will invest huge amounts of money. So, they want to see that their investments are secured,’ Nurul said.
‘We will sit with the NBR again on Sunday, if it deems necessary,’ he added.
NBR officials said that the committee would examine the arguments of NBR and mobile operators over the SIM replacement tax and then make a decision.
LTU claimed several of their investigations had found that mobile operators sold old SIMs, most of which had been abandoned by original clients, to new clients but did not pay the tax for those SIM saying that they just replaced those SIMs to original clients.
But the mobile companies denied the allegations saying that they did not sell any SIMs to new clients but replaced the old SIMs for the old customers.
In early 2012, the NBR claimed a total of Tk 1,580 crore from GP, Tk 774 crore from Banglalink, Tk 664 crore from Robi and Tk 82 crore from Airtel saying that the operators had not paid the amounts as SIM replacement tax.
Out of the outstanding SIM replacement tax, Tk 2,000 crore is original tax while more than Tk 1,000 crore is in interest and late fees, NBR officials said.
They said the revenue board would also examine the demand placed by the operators for allowing them to show the subsidy on SIM as allowable expense at their financial statement.
They, however, said that there was no scope in law to provide subsidy as allowable expense as saying that subsidy cannot be expense as the operators had given it as their marketing strategy.
The mobile operators also demanded withdrawal of 7.5 per cent value-added tax on 3G spectrum fees but the NBR shrugged off the demands, they said.
The NBR last month reduced VAT on 3G spectrum fees to 7.5 per cent from 15 per cent, but the operators have been demanding withdrawal of VAT.
NBR officials said the pressure from the mobile operators had been mounting recently as they wanted to cash in on every opportunity before the 3G auction.
‘The operators know the 3G auction is important for the government’s revenue collection. So the mobile companies are trying to turn different pending issues in their favour,’ a NBR official said.
-With New Age input
