Al Amin :
The National Board of Revenue (NBR) is not getting expected result in collecting revenue from Value-Added Tax (VAT) sector.
The VAT is the only sector maintaining 3.36 negative growth in July-December of the current fiscal year whereas the other two sectors-export-import and income tax-are maintaining positive growth, as per the provisional data of the NBR.
NBR receipt Tk 40624.22 crore against the revised target of Tk 52837.93 crore during the period of the current fiscal year, which was Tk 42038.38 crore with 9.91 per cent growth during the same period of the last fiscal year.
Syed Aminul Kabir, former member of the NBR, told The New Nation, “Lower business transaction amid pandemic, NBR’s indecision over VAT policy and scarcity of skilled manpower for implementing VAT-law 2012 are the major reasons for lower VAT collection.”
“VAT sector is passing through a transitional period as the sector is nor automated or manual,” he said.
The NBR started the VAT online project on May 09 in 2014 with the fund support from the WB and the government, but the project is yet to be completed. The automation of VAT administration is necessary for successful execution of the VAT and Supplementary Duty Act-2012.
The project is now suffering from manpower shortage as only two officials are working in the project and successful completion of the project is now uncertain.
Kazi Mustafizur Rahman, Commissioner and the Project Director of the VAT Online, told The New Nation, “The project is suffering from acute manpower shortage. Some 17 officials had been working since the beginning of the project but only two officials are now working here.”
“We are repeatedly requesting the NBR Chairman for appointing new officials, but to no purpose,” he said.
Yet, we are determined to complete the project at any coast by June this year, he said.
Meanwhile, NBR installed Electronic Fiscal Device (EFD) machines on test basis in Dhaka and Chattogram city Corporation areas and it is planning to expand its usage at all the businesses of other city Corporation areas and districts in phases to bring pace in VAT collection.
But the system has apparently failed to attract the taxpayers so far due to the various reasons.
Several businesses alleged that their sales have been reduced as the customers don’t come to their shops fearing of extra payment. They also alleged that the dishonest NBR officials are harassing them in the name of implementation of VAT-Law-2012.
Ahsan H Mansur, Executive Director of Policy Research Institute (PRI), said, “The system has created further scopes to evade VAT. Corruption may increase, if the authority fails to monitor properly.”
“Under the existing system, some traders are paying VAT, some are being forced to pay while many others are evading by paying package VAT (Tk 15,000 per year). So, the system is not equal for all. Instead, if the NBR can fix VAT at the manufacturing and import level,” Belal opined.
