NBR forms body to implement new VAT law

A joint working committee has been formed recently to take necessary steps for implementing new Value Added Tax (VAT) law from the fiscal year 2019.

The committee comprises representatives of the revenue board and the apex chamber.

The working committee will also help build the capacity of the VAT administration and make taxpayer-friendly online VAT system operational.

VAT policy member Md Rezaul Hasan is convener of the nine-member committee.

The committee has been formed to resolve the ongoing impasse over the continuation of the online VAT system, officials said.

The NBR will have to amend the existing VAT rules-1991 to continue the automated VAT system and proceed further.

Earlier, the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) rejected the draft VAT rules-1991 terming it 'a duplicate copy' of the new VAT and Supplementary Duty (SD) Act-2012, which the government deferred by two years.

The tax-collecting authority will not be able to introduce the online submission of VAT returns unless the existing VAT rules-1991 is amended to incorporate the provisions of digitisation.

Also, the ongoing issuance of electronic Business Identification Number (BIN) needs legal backup in the existing VAT law-1991.

The board has issued e-BINs as a ground work before the implementation of the new VAT law, which was supposed to be effective from the current fiscal year.

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