The National Board of Revenue (NBR) has intensified its efforts to realise the outstanding revenue worth Tk 30 billion from the country's four mobile operators to lessen its revenue deficit for the last fiscal year.
The revenue as 'SIM (subscribers' identification module) replacement tax' for 2007 to 2011 period remained stuck for the last two years despite several efforts of the tax authority.
Both mobile phone operators and NBR failed to reach a consensus over the issue despite formation of a high-powered committee with the instructions of the High Court.
The NBR Chairman Ghulam Hussain Sunday sat with the Finance Minister AMA Muhith to resolve the matter and expedite realisation of the outstanding revenue shortly.
Talking to the FE, NBR chairman Ghulam Hussain said the Finance Minister has decided to handle the issue by himself through discussion with the mobile phone operators.
According to the provisional figure, the NBR collected an aggregate amount of revenue worth Tk 1.21 trillion last year against its target for Tk 1.25 trillion.
He, however, said the aggregate amount tax revenue might be increased by Tk 10 billion by the end of this month.
The NBR chairman held responsible the poor financial condition of commercial banks last year and some dues with the government along with political turbulences for this shortfall against the target.
On SIM replacement issues, taxmen wrapped up the negotiation process with the cell phone operators in January this year by preparing a final report. However, the representatives of mobile phone operators have found the report not acceptable.
Earlier, Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) of the four telecom operators have expressed their concern over the demand for SIM replacement tax.
In a joint letter to Finance Minister AMA Muhith, the mobile operators alleged that their suggestions remained ignored in the final report. They sought FM's intervention in resolving the matter.
Officials said the NBR claimed the dues worth Tk 30. 62 billion in 2012 from four cell phone companies against replacement of SIM card but the companies declined to comply with it.
The mobile phone operators filed a case in the court claiming that they only replaced existing SIMs and did not sell new ones.
Following the disputes, the HC instructed both the NBR and the cell phone operators to settle the issue through discussion. The discussion process failed after three-month long efforts.
NBR gears up move to realise Tk 30b outstanding revenue
Doulot Akter Mala | Published: July 28, 2014 00:00:00 | Updated: November 30, 2024 06:01:00
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