No bar to implement VAT law: Finance Minister

Special Correspondent: Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal has said that there is now no distance between the government and the business community including FBCCI as the government is moving forward to implement the new VAT law from this first of July.

He said, “The FBCCI and the business community have now assured him that they do not have any objection now over VAT law as all of their demands have been incorporated.”

The Finance Minister was briefing reporters at his Economic Relations Division (ERD) office after holding a meeting with the leaders of FBCCI on Tuesday afternoon.

The National Board of Revenue (NBR) Chairman Md Mosharraf Hussain Bhuiyan, FBCCI President Sheikh Fazle Fahim (elect), outgoing President Shafiul Islam Mohiuddin and immediate past BGMEA President Siddiqur Rahman were present, among others.

The Finance Minister said there was some sort of misunderstanding with the FBCCI that they earlier demanded of the government to have a look at the final draft of the VAT law before passing it in parliament.

But, there is some technical difficulty as there is no such provision in the law to discuss over the final draft of the law until it is passed in parliament, Kamal said.

“If we don’t have the cooperation from the business community, then the entire exercise will be frustrated. For this, we seek their cooperation in a bigger way,” he added.

He said after getting a start, the full implementation of the VAT law would continue to take place as newer items will come every now and then.

“It might take a pretty long time to fully implement it……VAT is now in place in a limited scale, but we want to operationalize it in a more transparent, organized and hassle free way so that no taxpayer gets hurt as well as the government gets VAT properly. We want to get VAT through a win-win situation and we’re working to create that equilibrium, “he added.

risingbd/Dhaka/May 14, 2019/Hasnath/AKA