Mohammad Badrul Ahsan :
The National Board of Revenue is set to start pre-budget discussions with stakeholders including trade bodies, business associations and research and professional organisations from today (Wednesday) to prepare the national budget for the next fiscal year of 2017-18.
The NBR, on the first day of the discussion, will discuss with the representatives of three leading trade bodies-Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry and Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
Every year, the revenue board holds pre-budget discussions with the stakeholders to listen to their proposals for the budget, particularly on issues related to income tax, customs duty and value-added tax.
Pre-budget discussions are very important this year as focus of both NBR and stakeholders will be on implementation of the new VAT law, officials said.
Representatives of the Federation of Bangladesh
Chambers of Commerce and Industry and high officials of the revenue board will attend the meeting to be held at NBR headquarters in Dhaka with NBR chairman Md Nojibur Rahman in the chair.
As many as 20 meetings with representatives from more than 50 sectors and trade bodies will be held until first week of May, officials said, adding that the NBR will also arrange several meetings at divisional cities.
At the meetings, the NBR will encourage the businesses to give their opinions on new VAT and Supplementary Duty Act-2012 which is scheduled to come into force from the next fiscal year starting from July.
Officials said that the NBR will also try to resolve disputes over single rate of VAT at 15 per cent, abolition of package VAT and other issues of the new VAT law.
