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Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal today urged all concerned including the business community to engage themselves more in paying taxes including VAT and thus motivate others.
“Those who are eligible to pay tax and VAT will surely pay those. Please do such good work through paying tax and VAT and thus motivate others,” he said.
The finance minister was addressing a view-exchange and VAT Honour distribution event marking the National VAT Day and VAT Week 2019 held at the Bangabandhu International Conference Center (BICC) in the city this evening.
Kamal said the government of Sheikh Hasina did not impose higher tax rate, rather kept it flexible.
Mentioning that the economy of the country is now much more strong, he said the tax-GDP ratio in the country could have been much higher than the present level of 10 percent had there been no tax exemptions in various sectors.
Reiterating that the taxpayers would not be subjected to harassment anymore by the revenue board, the Finance Minister assured the business community of taking stern action if any official is found guilty of harassing them.
Chaired by NBR Member (customs export, bond) Sultan Md Iqbal, NBR Members Khandaker Muhammad Aminur Rahman and Dr Abdul Mannan Shikder spoke at the function as special guests.
NBR Member (VAT management and IT) M Jamal Hossain made the key-note presentation where he said that Electronic Fiscal Devices would be installed soon at the major shopping malls and other retail business entities at Dhaka and Chattogram which will later be spread across the country.
The country’s retail business entities in 24 categories would be brought under this automatic management system.
Zakia Sultana, Commissioner of Customs, Excise & VAT Commissionerate, Dhaka (North) gave the address of welcome. The theme of this year’s VAT Day is “VAT Dichhe Jonogon, Desher Hochhe Unnayan”.
NBR Member (VAT Policy) Dr Abdul Mannan Sikder said that from now on any businessman would be able to submit VAT returns through online staying at their home.
He hoped that the distribution of the Electronic Fiscal Devices among the business entities would be completed by January next year while the concerned business establishments having annual turnover of over Taka 5 crore would have to maintain their accounts through computer software from first of January, 2020.
Later, the finance minister handed over crests to the country’s top national VAT-payers at the function in its bid to encourage compliance and raise awareness on the need to pay tax to finance national development.
Some 144 became eligible to be recognised as the highest VAT-payers in the fiscal year of 2017-18. Of them, nine were awarded for depositing the highest amount of the indirect tax nationally.
Thirty-four firms, comprising nine highest VAT-payers nationally and 25 from Dhaka division were recognised at the event. The rest are being awarded by field offices in other divisions.
This was the 14th year the NBR honoured the highest VAT-paying firms.
Introduced in July 1991, the VAT has become the biggest contributor to the NBR’s revenue collection from FY1995-96 and has been maintaining the lead since then.
In order to create awareness and increase compliance on VAT payment, the NBR has been observing the VAT Day since 2012. The revenue administration also organises the VAT Week.
(BSS)
