The National Board of Revenue (NBR) has decided to relax that condition that makes10 per cent higher VAT payment on an annual basis mandatory to help the businesses to be eligible for the VAT payers' award that it distributes every year.
The board has decided to amend the highest VAT payers' award giving policy to relax the eligibility criteria, after it found many of the competent businesses are being deprived of the award.
NBR's Value Added Tax (VAT) Wing has found the quota meant for the district-level highest VAT payers was not fulfilled in the last two years due to the existing criteria.
Following directives of the high-ups, the VAT Implementation and Information Technology Wing has requested the VAT Policy Wing, by issuing a note, to take initiatives for amending the policy.
As per the award giving policy, there are some 192 awards for the highest VAT payers from districts under three categories - business, service and product.
NBR found some 149 businesses eligible in 2017 and 133 in 2016 in the district level as per the conditions.
Businesses are required to meet four basic criteria to be selected for the highest VAT payers' award. Any organization - that is accused under income tax, VAT or customs laws in a particular financial year, or that has case under trial in any court or tribunal, or it is a bank loan defaulter or that it has not achieved 10 per cent growth in VAT payment - is not eligible for the highest VAT payers' award for that year.
A VAT official said relaxing the condition for tax defaulters or for the businesses having legal dispute with the VAT officials will not be justified.
However, the condition relating to 10 per cent higher VAT payment from the corresponding year can be relaxed in view of sluggish trend now prevailing in business activities, he also said.
Some of the large companies who are among the top ten VAT payers did not get the highest VAT payers award due to the eligibility criteria.
As per the award giving policy, NBR also honours top nine VAT payers at national level. However, officials have found those nine VAT payers are not among the 30 highest VAT payers in terms of volume of payment.
Officials said NBR is planning to increase the number of awardees by including leaders of the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI), artists, intellectuals, and journalists of electronic and print media.
The number of highest VAT payers' awards might be increased to 100, including 36 national-level highest VAT payers and 64 VAT payers from each of the districts.
However, income tax award giving policy has the provision to award the taxpayers according to their professions, businesses, and nature of jobs etc.
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