The country's realtors on Tuesday called for slashing the registration fee to 7.0 per cent from the existing 10-12.5 per cent of the value to help boost flat sales, which dropped drastically during the Covid-19 pandemic.
They also placed a proposal to establish a Tk 200 billion refinancing scheme under the Bangladesh Bank for the housing sector.
The proposals were placed at a pre-budget discussion between the National Board of Revenue (NBR) and the associations related to the construction industry ahead of the upcoming budget for 2021-22.
NBR chairman Abu Hena Md Rahmatul Muneem presided over the pre-budget meeting held at the NBR office in the city.
Representatives of Real Estate and Housing Association of Bangladesh (Rehab), Bangladesh Re-Rolling Mills Associations (BRMA), Bangladesh Steel Mills Owners Association (BSMOA), Bangladesh Cement Manufacturers Association, Bangladesh Bricks Manufacturing Owners Association, Bangladesh Auto Brick Manufacturers Association, Bangladesh Iron and Steel Importers Association, and Steel Building Manufacturers Association of Bangladesh attended the meeting.
They also proposed reducing advance tax on import of raw materials and reviewing VAT and other taxes to cope with the financial losses they incurred due to the pandemic.
REHAB president Almgir Samsul Alamin Kajol presented their proposals, saying that transactions in the housing sector declined by 60 per cent in the last one year amid the pandemic.
To boost the sales of flats, the sector needs a refinancing scheme under which consumers could get loans at a single-digit interest rate with easy installment facilities, the REHAB noted.
It also proposed introducing a 'secondary market' by fixing registration fees at 3.5 per cent for the second-time sale of a flat.
BRMA and BSMOA suggested revising the advance tax at import stage downward to 2.0 per cent from the existing 4.0 per cent.
BSMOA president Manwar Hossain said the prices of scrap metal, the key raw materials for steel industry, increased to $500 a tonne in the last one year from $300 a tonne earlier.
BRMA and BSMOA also proposed setting a specific tax of Tk 500 on import of each tonne of raw materials like ferro-alloys, sponge iron and ferrous waste and scrap (HS Codes: 72.02, 72.03 and 72.04 respectively), which is now Tk 800 for the first two products and Tk 1,500 for the last one.
The associations also called for lifting the existing 15 per cent regulatory duty and re-fixing the advance VAT to 2.0 per cent from 4.0 per cent earlier for import of the three raw materials.
The brick makers proposed slashing the VAT on brick kiln (per section) to Tk 0.37 million (for producing bricks up to 1.0 million pieces) from existing Tk 0.45 million.
The cement manufacturers proposed 5.0 per cent customs duty on import of clinker instead of the existing tariff of Tk 500 per tonne.
The association also called for withdrawing the existing advance income tax and tax at supply stage, which is now 3.0 per cent for the each segment.
Meanwhile, the Bangladesh Association of Pharmaceutical Industries (BAPI) also placed their budget proposals to the NBR on the day.
It proposed reducing tax on discounts, commission or promotional incentives of the pharmaceuticals company to 2.0 per cent from the existing 10 per cent.
The association also proposed lifting tax at sources for intangible assets like ANDA, patent, products right, marketing right, patent right, product dossier and copyright.
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