The National Board of Revenue (NBR) has honoured nine top VAT-paying companies on the occasion of the National VAT Day and VAT Week-2020.
The companies are Popular Pharmaceuticals, Berger Paints Bangladesh Ltd. Fair Electronics, Hamko Corporation Ltd. Siemens Bangladesh Ltd., Unimart, Summit Communications, Qatar Airways and Chittagong Warehouses Ltd.
NBR chairman Abu Hena Md Rahmatul Muneem handed over the awards to the top executives of the companies at a programme on the NBR office premises in the city on Thursday.
Speaking at the event, businesses have urged the NBR to reduce the VAT and corporate tax rates in the next three years.
They also laid emphasis on removing mistrust between taxmen and taxpayers to encourage tax payment.
President of the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry Sheikh Fazle Fahim proposed slashing the VAT rate to 7.0 per cent from the existing 15 per cent.
He also said the NBR could review the existing corporate tax rate and bring it down within the next three years.
The tax rate should be fixed considering the country's socio-economic reality, he added.
Managing Director of Berger Paints Rupali Chowdhury said the NBR should lay emphasis on trust-building with the taxpayers.
The NBR should also monitor how many of the total 4.0 million businesses have been brought under the VAT net, she said.
Speaking at the programme, the NBR chairman said campaigning is necessary to raise awareness about VAT payment.
The NBR is trying to expand the tax net to bring down the tax rates gradually, he added.
He also said that revenue collection grew despite the Covid-19 pandemic and drastic fall in tourism business. VAT collections from hotels and restaurants have almost come to a halt during the pandemic.
NBR member (VAT implementation and IT) Abdul Mannan Shikder presented the keynote paper at a panel discussion.
He said the VAT wing is likely to get connected with the Sonali Bank on December 16, marking the introduction of e-payment for the clients of the bank.
So far, some 74,000 VAT payers have submitted their returns online, he added.
The number of VAT-registered businesses has also increased to 225,634, who obtained Business Identification Numbers (BINs) online, he said.
Customs policy member Golam Kibria moderated the discussion attended by NBR member (VAT policy) Masud Sadik, income tax (policy) member Alamgir Hossain and CEO of Grameenphone Yasir Azman.
MD and CEO of Popular Pharmaceuticals Dr Mostafizur Rahman, MD of Berger Paints Rupali Chowdhury, Chairman of Fair Electronics Ruhul Alam Al Mahbub, Chairman of Hamko Corporation Syed Ahmed Talukder, Chief Finance Officer of Siemens Bangladesh Md Bul Hassan, MD of Unimart Malik Talha Islam Bari, MD and CEO of Summit Communications Arif Al Islam, Finance Officer of Qatar Airways Shariful Islam, and Chairman of Chittagong Warehouses Ltd. Imran Ahmed received the awards at the programme.
