Automated taxation system in all customs houses soon

Doulot Akter Mala | Published: March 28, 2011 00:00:00 | Updated: February 01, 2018 00:00:00

Doulot Akter Mala
The NBR will introduce automated taxation system in all the customs houses to help businesses on cargo clearance and advance declaration of products. The National Board of Revenue is set to start installation of ASYCUDA-world system in all the customs houses in 2011-12 fiscal with the technical assistance of UNCTAD (United Nations Conference on Trade and Development). National Board of Revenue (NBR) officials said the relevant software will need at least two years for its full-fledged implementation. The software will be introduced in phases and need at least six to 10 months, the officials said. The finance ministry recently held a meeting on taking reform programmes for reducing cost of doing business in the country. The NBR has pledged to introduce the automated system to expedite trade activities. The inter-ministerial meeting, chaired by Finance Secretary Mohammad Tarek, set the time-frame to finalise ASYCUDA-world implementation project proposal, and customise and operationalise the system and complete its implementation. According to the decisions of the meeting, implementation of the project will be completed by 2012-13, said minutes of the meeting obtained by the FE. "The project proposal had been submitted on March 1, within the scheduled deadline. Around Tk 100 million will be needed for the project," said a senior customs official. The entire fund will be provided to the UNCTAD to provide technical assistance and prepare the software for automation of customs, he added. The project has focused on strengthening capacities of the customs department, he said. Delay at customs points has been identified as one of the major reasons of high cost of doing business. World Bank and Bangladesh Tariff Commission (BTC) are conducting two separate studies to identify reasons of higher cost of doing business in the country. The government has partially automated the Chittagong Customs House in 2008. Time for loading and unloading of goods has declined significantly after the automation of export and import activities. Another move to automate the Dhaka Customs House is underway.