The National Board of Revenue (NBR) has extended the deadline for using the existing business identification numbers (BINs) by the business entities.
The validity of old BINs was scheduled to be expired on March 31 next. It has now been extended to June 30 next.
After the deadline, all businesses will have to use new VAT registration number or e-BIN for conducting various business activities.
NBR issued a public notice on Wednesday, extending the validity of the existing BINs.
A senior official of the revenue board said NBR has extended the deadline, as it is yet to complete work on the amendment to the legal provisions necessary for making the new BINs mandatory.
NBR has to amend the existing VAT Rules 1991 to make the new BINs mandatory, he also said.
"The VAT Wing is issuing new BINs in line with the new VAT and Supplementary Duty Act 2012, the enforcement of which has been deferred by two years following strong opposition from businesses," he added.
The new VAT law was scheduled to be effective from July 1, 2017. The revenue board started issuing new BINs online on March 17, 2017.
Currently, the NBR is issuing new BINs to the businesses as per the new law, but also issuing old BINs and continuing all other activities under the existing law.
Another official of the VAT wing said the new nine-digit BINs will need legal backup under the existing VAT law 1991.
"The government is yet to amend the existing VAT rule 1991 to this effect," he said.
Amendment to the VAT rule is also facing strong resistance from the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI).
The apex chamber rejected the draft of the amended VAT rule, claiming that it is a duplicate version of the new VAT law that will affect the businesses. The new e-BIN is mandatory for business activities, including trading, import, export, opening letter of credit and participation in tenders.
Officials said the deadline extension will facilitate the businesses to obtain the new BINs within the deadline, as many of the existing BIN-holders are yet to get new registration number. Until March 28 (Wednesday), some 41,824 BIN-holders, out of the existing 8,65,000, re-registered themselves, obtaining the new BIN.
However, officials said the number of actual BIN-holders will come down significantly, as many businesses obtained multiple BINs for operating businesses.
A total of 96,524 businesses have obtained new BINs until March 28. Of them, 54,700 are new businesses.
NBR extended the validity of old BINs twice. At first it decided to make the new BIN mandatory from January 1, 2018. Later, the time was extended up to March 31.
Officials said issuance and use of online BINs is also facing different technical problems. The NBR is issuing BIN online upon requirement of the businesses.
