The National Board of Revenue has asked Bangladesh Rural Electrification Board to pay by this month a total of Tk 101.75 crore in value-added tax the REB collected from its consumers on meter rent, NBR officials said. The state-run REB did not pay the amount which was derived and accumulated from meter rent from February, 2008 to December 2012, they said.The large taxpayer unit of the NBR has recently served final notice on the organisation for paying the dues as the REB failed to comply with the previous two notices issued by the tax authorities.
In the final notice, the LTU (VAT) said that the revenue authorities would take actions including freezing the bank accounts of the organisation under Value-Added Tax Act-1991, if it fails to pay the dues by the deadline December 31.
LTU (VAT) officials said the REB, a semi-autonomous agency which provides electricity services to rural consumers, collected a total of Tk 446.18 crore in meter rent from its consumers.
According to VAT act, meter rent is not exempted from paying VAT and at the rate of 15 per cent VAT is imposed on meter rent.
Officials said that the REB was supposed to pay Tk 66.93 crore in VAT on meter rent collected from February 2008 to December 2012.
As the organisation did not pay the VAT, the NBR demanded another Tk 34.82 crore in interest at the rate of 2 per cent on the principal amount, they said.
The REB several times has sought waiver from the NBR from paying the dues and sought intervention from the finance minister and state minister for power in this regard, officials said.
-With New Age input
