The National Board of Revenue (NBR) has been trying hard to introduce electronic cash registers, also known as Electronic Fiscal Devices (EFDs), on a limited scale for quite some time. But the move has largely remained unsuccessful.
The NBR is interested in getting EFDs in place for the sake of boosting collection of value added tax (VAT) and supplementary duty from businesses. The EFDs would help curb VAT evasion as the devices are supposed to be connected with the NBR server, centrally.
The reason for the NBR failing to get the ECRs or FEDs introduced even on a limited scale until now is the soft approach it has taken to reach its goal. Instead of asking businesses to install the gadget themselves within a certain deadline, it had decided to buy the same on its own with the taxpayers' money for distribution among relatively large retail and wholesale stores. But for unexplained reasons, the procurement of the cash registers remained stalled for the last two financial years.
The move has been revived lately. The cabinet committee on government purchase last Wednesday decided to purchase 10,000 EFDs from a Chinese vendor at Tk 32,000 each. The government has a plan to buy 100,000 EFDs in phases for distribution among businesses at the cost price. The business firms receiving the EFDs from the NBR would pay back the cost price of the machines in easy instalments. The NBR reportedly had estimated the procurement price for each EFD at Tk 49,000.
The Finance Minister while briefing reporters about the purchase committee decisions had faced a question about the lack of experience on the part of the Chinese supplier about FED manufacturing. But the minister said he personally knew the company and it was a big one. Moreover, the company in question turned out to be the lowest bidder. However, the lowest bidder does not always win the bid since it has to meet certain technical requirements.
If the quality of the EFDs to be supplied by the Chinese company is found to be good, the NBR is unlikely to face any problem. But, if it turns out to be otherwise, the Board risks losing the money it would be investing in the procurement of EFDs from the Chinese company. Moreover, the dishonest section of businesses might try to make out a case for not using the machines.
It would have been better had the government issued directives asking businesses with certain level of annual turnover to install EFDs on their own within a given deadline. The failure to meet the deadline would make the businesses concerned liable for punishment, pecuniary or otherwise. In many countries, businesses are using the EFDs on their own and the governments there have nothing to do with their procurement and installation.
Moreover, allegations of irregularities do surface in most procurements done by government agencies. One does not have to go far to find instances. The purchase of pillows and some other goods at inflated costs under the ongoing Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant project has crossed all limits, past and present.
The other day one Bengali contemporary reported that the roof of a number of passenger buses imported recently under one of the Indian Lines of Credit have developed cracks and rain water is seeping through those. There are scores of instances of irregularities in government procurement. The Public Procurement Act, rules framed under it and formation of the Central Procurement Technical Unit (CPTU) could not stop corrupt elements from indulging in irregularities in procurement.