Manufacturers of electrical and electronic goods will get more tax benefits than the assemblers of such products in the next budget for financial year 2019-20, National Board of Revenue (NBR) Chairman Md Mosharraf Hossain Bhuiyan said on Wednesday.
To promote export diversification, the revenue authority will also offer the potential export-oriented industries similar tax benefits as enjoyed by the garment sector, he said.
The NBR chief came up with the assurances at a pre-budget discussion with the electrical and electronic product manufacturers at the NBR headquarters in the city's Segunbagicha area.
Mr Bhuiyan said the NBR would offer different duty benefits and incentives for manufacturers and assemblers of mobile handset, refrigerator and other electrical products to encourage entrepreneurs to invest in the manufacturing sector.
Presently, many large brands, who are mainly assemblers, have been obtaining similar tax benefits as manufacturers do, he said, adding that the manufacturers should get more benefits than others.
Emphasising on the need for export diversification, the NBR chairman said exporters should enhance the quality of products to tap the export potential in the global market.
Bangladesh Mobile Manufacturers Association (BMBA) President Ruhul Alam Al Mahbub said the NBR should recognise the manufactures of motherboard as mobile phone manufacturers to promote backward-linkage industries.
Bangladesh Refrigerator Manufacturers Association (BRMA) suggested laying out a clear definition of manufacturers and assemblers and also creating a significant difference between tax benefits for the two groups.
The Bangladesh Electrical Merchandised Manufacturers Association urged the NBR to provide duty-free raw material import facility for the LED light industry for five years.
Later, the Bangladesh Association of Software and Information Services (BASIS) held a separate meeting with the NBR at the same venue.
The BASIS recommended that NBR introduce a special card for payment of digital marketing bills to global digital platforms like Google and Facebook instead of the existing payment system.
Such a system will ensure proper revenue collection from the sector, BASIS leaders said in its budget proposal.
BASIS Vice President Mushfiqur Rahman called for ensuring tax collection from global internet giants against advertisement bills.
In reply, the NBR chairman said the government is also considering the issue of framing a 'Digital Marketing Payment Policy'.
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