Staff Reporter :
The Bangladesh Restaurant Owners’ Association (BROA) on Saturday urged the authorities concerned to stop unnecessary harassment in the name of mobile court.
“The restaurant owners are treated unnecessarily by the law enforcing agencies when a mobile court runs an operation. We like to urge to conduct mobile court as per rules of business of the mobile court,” said Imran Hassan, Secretary General of the association, while speaking at a press briefing at a city hotel.
The BORA also demanded a level playing field for all by ensuring mandatory Value-Added Tax (VAT) for all restaurants. Now the registered restaurants are realising VAT for the National Board of Revenue while most of the restaurants are still out of register.
The non- aired conditioned restaurants realised VAT at 5 per cent and aired-conditioned restaurants at 7.5 per cent.
The BROA also wants to pay highest 10 per cent commission charge to online food delivery companies as now their ”profit margin is very poor for paying 35-40 per cent commission.”
“The delivery companies pay bill to restaurants once in a week, as a result a big portion of money being stuck to the companies,” Imran said.
Though there is no total estimation how much money stuck to delivery companies. Imran further said one stop service with simplified rules for registration can remove harassment in the sector.
“We are bound to work under 11 government authorities to get registration and renew the registration each year. It is very difficult for us,” he said.
A strong organizational structure is needed to bring discipline in the sector, the BROA leader said.
The restaurateurs raised a nine-point demand, including the declaration of the sector as an industry and training for workers of the sector in the press conference. According to the organisation, there are around four lakhs restaurants across the country where around 30 lakhs of employment have been created.
BROA President Osman Gani, Joint Secretary Firoz Alam Sumon and Organising Secretary Syed Mohammad Andalib, among others, were present.
