NBR report projects Tk 10b revenue shortfall in FY '10

FE Team | Published: January 05, 2010 00:00:00 | Updated: February 01, 2018 00:00:00

Nazmul Ahsan
The National Board of Revenue (NBR) in a report has projected a revenue shortfall of Tk 10 billion in the current 2009-2010 fiscal year mainly because of the global financial meltdown and reduction in revenue generation at the import stage.
The Board now expects to earn a revenue of Tk 600 billion in 2009-2010 as against the target of Tk 610 billion, set for the current fiscal year.
The projected shortfall in revenue earning will take place only at import stage, the report added.
The report said the revenue earnings during July-November period registered a 14.71 per cent growth over that of the corresponding period of the previous fiscal.
The report has recently been submitted to the Ministry of Finance (MoF) and discussed at the Cash and Debt Management Committee (CDMC) of the government, sources said.
The CDMC has already started the process of finalising the revised budget for the current fiscal year.
According to the report, the income from the head of import duty in the current fiscal year might stand at Tk 99.82 billion, Tk 4.38 billion less than the original target of Tk 104.30 billion.
The shortfall on account of Value Added Tax (VAT) at the import stage has been estimated at Tk 4.39 billion and that of Supplementary Duty at import stage at Tk 1.03 billion , according to the report.
Citing reasons for shortfall, the report said, the import duty on industrial raw materials was reduced to five per cent from seven per cent, which would cause a shortfall in revenue income from duties at the import level.
Besides, the local economy has been affected due to global financial downswing, the report added.
Top NBR officials said dearth of manpower in the customs department has been affecting revenue earnings badly.
"We have been failing to identify under-invoicing and misdeclaration astutely as over 50 per cent posts of Assessment Officers are now vacant," a Member of the NBR told the FE on Monday.
He, however, admitted that rampant corruption by customs officials is one of the major reasons for lower than expected revenue earnings from imports.
The report of the NBR has projected an earning of Tk 125.89 billion from VAT (local stage), Tk 78.79 billion from Supplementary Duty (local stage) and Tk 165.60 billion from income tax in the current fiscal year.
The NBR earned Tk 214.59 billion during the first five months of 2009-2010 fiscal year registering a 14.71 per cent growth.
The income made from import duties during July-November period was Tk 88.16 billion, VAT Tk 49.44 billion and income tax Tk 46.72 billion.