No VAT on private universities

The government has no plans to impose VAT on private universities, Planning Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal yesterday said quoting Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

The announcement comes a day after Finance Minister AMA Muhith told reporters that private university owners would have to pay VAT in the next fiscal year.

In a meeting of the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council yesterday the prime minister said no such step would be taken at the moment, Mustafa Kamal told reporters.

Tap Here to Add The Daily Star As A Trusted Source

During the ECNEC meeting, a senior minister said Muhith's statement was misleading as the government had no plans to impose VAT on private universities. He added that it could spark further agitation at a time when a movement to reform quotas in government jobs was being waged, an official told The Daily Star requesting anonymity.

The prime minister then asked the planning minister to talk about the government's intentions in the media briefing following the ECNEC meeting, the official added.

Quoting the prime minister, Mustafa Kamal at the briefing said, “We want to take the education sector forward.”

Mustafa Kamal also said the finance minister was present in the meeting but he did not say anything on the issue.

Meanwhile, Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader, who was present at the ECNEC meeting, issued a statement yesterday afternoon, saying the finance minister's comment about imposing VAT on private universities was a personal opinion and did not represent the government's stance.  

Also yesterday, Finance Minister AMA Muhith at his secretariat office said, “I think yesterday (Monday) I took it a little differently. Actually, no VAT will be imposed on private universities.”

He, however, added that many of the private universities were making large profits and the NBR would see whether tax can be imposed on their incomes.

As reporters pointed out that private universities were not profit-making entities, he said many of the universities made profit by charging students excessive fees and the NBR would try to look into the loopholes in the system.