Sohel Parvez

A field office of the National Board of Revenue has brought a VAT evasion allegation against Singer Bangladesh Ltd and claimed nearly Tk 94 crore as indirect tax from the electronics and home appliance seller.

No one knows how the poor man dines, says a Russian proverb that now seems all too fitting in light of the government’s decision to hike the prices of diesel, kerosene and liquefied petroleum gas. 

The surge in sales of state-backed savings instruments has become a major source of income for the revenue collector in recent years as it charges up to 10 per cent tax on the profits made mainly by pensioners and middle-class families.

Bangladesh’s people have witnessed a huge surge in entrepreneurial spirit over the last couple of decades.

Akij Jute Mills Ltd has poured the whole $20 million, which the Bangladesh Bank in November 2017 granted, from its export retention quota into its subsidiary Akij Resources SDN BHD in Malaysia.

The government has framed draft rules to allow local firms to set up subsidiaries or buy shares in companies in other countries with a view to facilitating investment abroad.

Farmers have expanded Aman paddy cultivation this season encouraged by favourable weather and better prices for the staple in domestic markets.

The rising shipment of jute and jute goods from Bangladesh has come to a halt owing to higher prices of the raw fibre and unprecedentedly high freight costs.

For the last three years Md Saiful Islam has been preparing and submitting his income tax returns all by himself.

Bangladesh is forecast to remain ahead of India in terms of per capita gross domestic product (GDP) in the next five years to 2026 powered by buoyancy in remittance, exports and agricultural activities.

Revenue collection soared nearly 15 per cent to Tk 34,548 crore in the July-August period of the current fiscal year from Tk 30,160 crore, powered by a recovery in economic and business activities since lifting of the countrywide lockdown early August.

With owners of digital commerce companies Evaly and E-orange behind bars and facing trials on allegations of embezzlement, the funds of thousands of customers have been stuck in the payment channels because of legal complexity.

By this time, it is known to many that the government has reduced the interest rate on savings certificate and wage earners bond for investments above Tk 15 lakh.

Appetite for purchases through online platforms using cards declined in July this year from that a month ago, as people have become cautious in placing orders following a series of scams centring e-commerce companies having started to come to light.

It has been six months since farmers have harvested potato and wheat. However, if anyone requests for data about the quantity of the crops produced and their acreage in the latest harvest from the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS), the state agency responsible for generating data nationally, they will be disappointed as no information is available.

Bangladesh continues to remain highly dependent on cigarette and tobacco products for its value-added tax (VAT) collection as the health hazards account for nearly one-third of the indirect tax generated by the domestic market.

Revenue collection grew marginally in July owing to the slowdown in business activities in the face of the government’s restrictions to combat the coronavirus spread.

Soybean oil consumption is growing faster than that of palm oil, buoyed by increasing preference among families to prepare foods.

Anyone with experience of preparing tax returns is aware that there is a complicated part: matching asset with liability.

A bumper yield of potato has now become a matter of concern for growers and traders as demand for the tuber declined for the ongoing countrywide lockdown.