The country’s apex trade body, FBCCI, urged the government yesterday to keep the revenue collection target at Tk 55,000 crore in the budget for fiscal year 2009-10 with an estimated growth rate at six percent.
Annisul Huq, president of the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI), put the proposal at a meeting with Dr Nasiruddin Ahmed, chairman of the National Board of Revenue (NBR), at the latter’s office. Huq led a business team to the NBR chairman’s office during the meeting.
Huq also called upon the government to bring down the import duty to one to two percent within 2016 for the sake of rapid industrialisation in the country.
The FBCCI boss urged the NBR chairman to cap the duties on import of capital machinery at one percent, on intermediate goods at five percent, essential intermediate goods at 12 percent and on luxury items at 25 percent.
Huq suggested the NBR enhance the duty and value added tax (VAT) on import of finished mild steel (MS) rods for the interest of the local re-rolling mills.
The NBR should encourage the businessmen to make friendly the electronic cash registers’ business, Huq said.
He suggested the ceiling of the income tax-free money should be raised up to Tk 200,000 from the existing Tk 165,000.
Published in: The Daily Star, Apr 24, 2009
