Relaxes condition on engine capacity
The National Board of Revenue has increased the lower limit of paid-up capital for companies to run taxicab business to Tk 2.5 crore from Tk 10 lakh and relaxed the condition related to engine capacity of taxicabs, officials said. Investors intend to enter into taxicab business will be able to import motor vehicles having engine capacity of 1,485cc to 2,000cc for using as taxicab, they said.
Earlier, taxicab companies had to import new or three-year old reconditioned motor cars from 1,500cc to 2,000cc for the purpose.
Officials said that the revenue board took the decision to encourage investment in the sector and remove the differences with the Taxicab Service Guidelines-2010 of the road transport and bridges ministry.
The NBR has already issued a statutory regulatory order, amending the SRO issued in 2009, to be published in a day or two with retrospective effect from March 2014, they said.
They said that some importers faced problems in the customs offices for importing motor cars less than 1,500cc in line with the ministry’s guidelines and the new rules would remove their problems.
On the other hand, the previous paid-up capital was insignificant and was needed to be updated, they added.
According to the original SRO, importers have to pay only 20 per cent customs duty in import of taxicabs as the revenue board waived all other duties including regulatory duty and supplementary duty to encourage investment in the sector.
Customs officials said currently the importers of reconditioned cars were paying 131 per cent duties and other taxes.
They said that the retrospective benefit was given for the sector as the revenue board released some taxicabs imported by the Army Welfare Trust from the Chittagong Port based on their application in March last year.
The customs wing had released the cars before the prime minister inaugurated the Trust taxicab service in April 2014, they said.
In the same time, Toma Taxicab Service, a sister concern of Toma Group, also started their operation in the capital.
Customs officials said that any public or private limited company having paid-up capital of Tk 2.5 crore would be allowed to import taxicabs upon fulfilling some other conditions.
According to the customs rules, importers must have taxpayer identification numbers and the imported cars will have to be registered as taxicabs in the name of the importing company or the financing bank or the leasing company.
The importing company, the financing bank or the leasing company will have to give a guarantee to the customs authorities on the payment of entire taxes and duties in case of abuse of the tax benefit.
Taxicabs can be re-registered as private cars upon fulfilling some conditions including minimum eight years of plying roads as taxicabs from the date of registration. f
-With New Age input
