Mis-use of bonded warehouse

Businessmen concerned over misuse of duty-free bond facility

Those businesses which are enjoying bonded warehouse facility, which is the importing duty free raw materials for export oriented production processes, are mis-using the aid. Instead of utilizing imported materials for processing export commodities, they are selling it to the local market. This is hitting small traders hard. The FBCCI president alerted traders to remain vigilant. An unchecked and ongoing process, which costs the government Tk 58,000 crore annually. The NBR has been asked to provide a list of merchants enjoying the facility.

Other issues related to encouraging VAT payment, reduction, taxpayer expansion and transparency have been discussed at a pre-budget discussion.

Initiatives on Cyber Security

Cyber security is getting a lot of attention in these past few days. Fresh in our frightful and alert minds, we had the ATM scam. Now we are all getting worked up about getting our SIM biometrically registered with various slogans and inspirational offers. What about the flip side? The significance of being online in our lives is stepping onto a new step though online payment and personal information disclosure. This post features a few activities happening towards a word of caution

Calls for stronger cyber security get louder
On a seminar on integrating VAT e-payment, some top policymakers suggested that every precaution is fore sought to safeguard online financial transactions. Giving caution to the wind, they expressed the risks we are posing to ourselves by integrating our lives and money online. Since it is common knowledge that FBI, WB and IMF has also been caught under fire of hackers, the Bangladesh Bank Governor expressed the need to be cyber secure. Already many systems are in place and further being suggested.

No VAT says Students, VAT legal says government

The VAT confusion

Protests sprang across the entire Dhaka city from on Thursday in an absolutely organized student movement, to get vocal about the announcement of 7.5% VAT on education by the government. Only since the huge Shahabgh movement, was such a scale of protest seen in the capital.

Finance minister AMA Muhith urged that this decision will not be overturned reasoning that the system had already been in place, which the university authorities have already agreed to. He rashly commented denouncing the movement of the “most educated sections..due to their lack of knowledge” for which he later apologized. He also stated that the students will not have to bear the burden, the issue being reconsidered in the coming days.

The NBR stated that this tax is on the private universities, not on the students, but government authorities could not clarify whether this had been extracted in this form in the past. Students, as well as teachers were not convinced, arguing strongly that since