Shakhawat Hossain and Jasim Uddin
The Orion Group has sought almost duty free import of luxury vehicles to oversee the construction of Mayor Hanif Flyover, the main part of which was already opened last month for vehicular movement. The National Board of Revenue officials told New Age that the group had repeatedly asked the revenue board to release the vehicles including one Mercedes Benz and a couple of Toyota Land Cruiser Prado at only 3 per cent duty.
The Orion Group officials told the NBR that they would use the vehicles for overseeing the construction of the flyover.
The group constructed the city’s first toll based flyover on built, owned, operate and transfer basis for the next 25 year according to its deal with the Dhaka City Corporation.
The group has already created controversy by charging higher tolls from the vehicles using the flyover that led the High Court to ask the government to explain the legality of the toll collection.
There are six pick ups and three wreakers the group imported along with the luxury vehicles late last year when 60 per cent of the flyover was completed.
NBR officials who refused to entertain the group’s repeated appeals to release the vehicles at 3 per cent duty assessed that the amount of duties with the Mercedes Benz and a couple of Toyota Land Cruiser Prado would be around Tk 5,00,00,000.
They said the group quoted price of the Marcedez Benz at Euro 51,920 equivalent to Tk 54,09,381.40. More than Tk 2,43,42,214 or 400 per cent duty is applicable to import of such car.
It is clear that the group is giving the pretext of the project to dodge tax, they said.
Denied by the NBR, Orion Group chairman Mohammad Obaidul Karim has lobbied with finance minister Abul Maal Abdul Muhith urging the minister in a recent letter to help release the vehicles.
He appealed to the minister in the latter that the government provided duty concession for the imported raw materials under the much vaunted Public Private Partnership.
He pointed out that they could not utilise the incentive as almost all the raw materials and necessary equipments were brought much before the project was recognised as a PPP project.
A copy of the latter was seen by this correspondent.
NBR chairman Ghulam Hussain said they have to assess whether the demand by the Orion Group is covered within its deal with the government.
‘At the same time we have to see whether the PPP policy allows such incentives,’ he said.
He, however, said the government should extend all possible assistances to the PPP project implementing agencies to carry forward the development activities.
Officials said the NBR chief has already sent a proposal to the finance ministry
with positive recommendation for the Orion Group appeal because of ‘political consideration’.
An official working on PPP projects on condition of anonymity said there should be no link between the Hanif Flyover and the present PPP policy.
The flyover project was approved in 2005 during the previous political regime at a cost of Tk 670 crore. But the estimated cost of the flyover that underwent changes in designs on a number of occasions under the present government has escalated to Tk 2,053 crore.
The official said the government could provide special incentives to the Orion Group or any other private group under ‘political consideration.’
But there was no scope for doing so under the present PPP policy, he said, adding that all incentives should be defined in the tender document of a PPP project for transparency and maintaining a level playing field for the bidders.
Courtesy of New Age
