Staff Reporter :
Revenue collection from local cement and construction industries has increased in the last fiscal year (2020-21), despite the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.
The revenue board collected Tk 632.10 crore revenues with 110.19 per cent year-on-year growth during the said period, according to a data prepared by the National Board of Revenue (NBR).
The board had fetched Tk 300.73 crore in the previous fiscal year (2019-20) and Tk 628.48 crore in 2018-19 fiscal from the cement industry, the data said.
That means, the cement industry has been able to recover and continues to be optimistic about the future, despite the disruption caused by the pandemic.
NBR officials said that the board has given priority the country’s housing and its related sectors in terms of revenue collection as some other important sectors are affected by the pandemic severely. As a result, the NBR is getting good response from the decision so far, they added.
The country’s cement industry has experienced an approximately 11.5 per cent growth rate over the last few years.
The lockdown caused by the ongoing pandemic from March to May in 2020 hugely affected the cement industry in terms of market growth, supply, and sales.
But the cement manufacturers now are optimistic about the future prospect of the industry, as the country’s economic development, rapid urbanisation, government infrastructure projects and growth in realestate sector.
On the other hand, the NBR earned Tk 7969.81 crore from the construction sector with 15.58 per cent growth rate in the 2020-2021 fiscal, which was Tk 6895.62 crore in 2019-20 fiscal and Tk 6951.39 crore in 2018-19 fiscal.
The revenue board collects Value-Added Tax (VAT) at the rate of 5 to 15 per cent from the sector.
Despite the lowering consumption capacity of the people, the construction works of different mega projects of the government were resumed amid the pandemic.
Besides, there has been an increase in construction in rural areas as a result of increased remittance inflow and the return of expatriates with their savings.
All of these have led the construction firms sector to recover quickly as well as soar in revenue collection during the above mentioned time.
There are over 4,000 construction firms in the country, according to the Bangladesh Association of Construction Industry (BACI), a platform of contractors and engineers.
Dr Syed Aminul Karim, former member of the NBR, told The New Nation, “The revenue collection from the two sectors would have increased more, if there were no tax exemption in some cases.”
