12 major agri farms allowed to invest in savings tools

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FE Report
The government has allowed 12 major agricultural farms to invest their income in savings tools by withdrawing restriction on purchase of the instruments with corporate income.
The agricultural farms include -- fishery, poultry, pelleted poultry feed, seed production and marketing, dairy, frog, mushroom, horticulture, sericulture and flower.
The Internal Resources Division (IRD) of the Finance ministry, earlier, allowed only individuals to invest in "savings certificate of 5-year term". From now on, the government will allow those companies to purchase the savings tools and enjoy tax exemption on their income.
Income tax wing of the National Board of Revenue (NBR) recently issued a circular allowing the agricultural farming businesses to invest in savings instruments to get tax exemption on their entire income.
"Those agricultural farms are entitled to enjoy income tax exemption on their earnings with a condition on investing 10 per cent of their profit in bond or government securities if their income exceeds Tk 1,50,000," said a senior income tax official.
The companies have to invest the amount within six months of a new financial year, he said.
NBR member (tax policy) Aminur Rahman said the revenue board has allowed investment in savings certificates instead of bonds as it has found the sectors facing problems after the government discontinued issuance of the bonds of three-year term from the current fiscal.
"Taxpayers under the said category usually invest in bond of three-year term. But the internal resource division (IRD) stopped selling of the bond which created problems on claiming tax exemption against the investment," the NBR circular said.
The NBR circular clarified its position terming the savings certificates as 'securities' as per The Securities Act, 1920 and The Public Debt Act, 1944.
As per Saving Certificate rule, only individuals are allowed to invest in the 'Bangladesh Saving certificate of 5-year term'. Companies, partnership farms or other categories of taxpayers are not allowed to purchase those two categories of savings tools.
The IRD has incorporated the rules amending 'Sanchayapatra rules, 1977' allowing investment by corporate taxpayers in saving tools of 5-year term.