Deduction of 5pc tax from export subsidy may go

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FE Report
The government might discontinue deduction of 5.0 per cent income tax from export subsidy from the next fiscal year.
"The revenue authority will consider withdrawing the provision from the next fiscal budget," said National Board of Revenue (NBR) Chairman Muhammad Abdul Mazid Sunday.
He said the Board is likely to review the matter at a post-AGM (annual general meeting) discussion with the members of the Bangladesh Jute Mills Association (BJMA) following a demand from the Association.
The outgoing BJMA Chairman Kamran T. Rahman informed the NBR chairman that the jute exporters received less benefit following deduction of such tax from the fiscal incentive.
Terming the BJMA's demand 'logical', the NBR chairman also said, "There is a scope to review such provisions."
Mazid, however, assured the jute mills owners of all support from the NBR for revival of the country's jute industry.
He also advised the Association to put forward recommendations to the NBR that will help revive the country's jute sector.
In the past, jute was a major cash crop of Bangladesh, but now the sector has fallen behind, he observed, adding that the sector could regain its golden era.
Earlier, the 24th AGM of the Association was held at its city office with Kamran T. Rahman in the Chair.
In his address, Kamran informed the meeting that the Association had been pursuing the government through the Chief Adviser's Office (CAO) for revitalising the country's conventional jute industry.
It recently placed a memorandum to the Secretary of CAO Md. Aminul Islam, demanding early implementation of the recommendations made earlier by the Jute Advisory Committee.
The recommendations include extending the facility for rescheduling the Jute Sector Adjustment Credit (JSAC) loans until 2020 from existing 2008, releasing outstanding funds that the government owes to the jute mill operators and reducing bank interest on working capital to 7.0 per cent per annum.
The Committee also recommended, among others, enhancement of the cash subsidy to 15 per cent on export of jute goods like hessian, sacking, yarn and twine and 20 per cent on export of value-added jute goods.
Mentioning that the exporters are yet to get their due subsidy for the fiscal years 2006-07 and 2007-08, the BJMA Chairman urged the government to disburse the outstanding cash incentives.