Staff Reporter :
The restaurant owners demanded fixation of 5 percent Value-Added Tax (VAT) for lower and moderate categories restaurants in a bid to recoup their losses caused by the ongoing pandemic.
Realizing their demand, the Bangladesh Restaurant Owners Association (BROA) has sent a letter to the National Board of Revenue (NBR) Chairman Abu Hena Md Rahmatul Muneem recently.
In the letter, Firoz Alam Sumon, Acting Secretary General of the BROA, also demanded for bringing all the restaurants under electronic fiscal device (EFD) to widen VAT net.
“15 percent VAT for AC and 5 percent for non-AC restaurants have been proposed in the budget for 2021-22 FY. But, we demand maximum 5 percent VAT for lower and moderate categories restaurants,” Firoz said.
He further said, “The AC and non-AC categories should be abolished for VAT payment as AC is a general necessity now-a-days.” The restaurant sector is the worst victim of the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic as the restaurants have remained closed during the pandemic time and the amount of financial losses in this sector are higher than calculation, he said.
Consideration the financial losdes, the VAT rate has been reduced by 50 to 60 percent in different countries, except Bangladesh, to sustain the sector, he added.
Under this circumstance, businesses think that the VAT collection will be increased, if VAT rate is fixed at 5 percent, he said.
“We want to give VAT. We want to assist the government by paying revenue. VAT collection will be increased by over Tk 2000 crore additionally from the sector, if VAT rate is fixed at 5 percent,” the letter said.
Alleging, the restaurants owners, have an electronic fiscal device (EFD Machine) provided by NBR, are facing harassment mostly, he said, “The EFD machine users are facing business loss as the NBR failed to installed the machines at 95 percent the restaurants.”
“Bringing discipline in VAT collection from the sector, the authority should set up EFD machines in all restaurants,” he said.
The other demands of them are formulation a policy for online food delivery services and determination highest 10 percent commission, 6 months stimulus for workers of the sector or monthly food assistance, loan for owners against 4 percent interest and declaration the sector as industry.
The country has around 60,000 restaurants and around 30 lakh people are employed in the sector, according to BROA.
