NBR to fix cement price as per present market trend to boost VAT collection

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Doulot Akter Mala
The National Board of Revenue (NBR) has decided to fix the actual price of cement in line with the present market price to increase the collection of Value Added Tax (VAT) from the major revenue-earning sector.
The VAT department's earning from the sector dropped drastically in the first seven months of the current fiscal compared to that of the corresponding period of the previous fiscal.
The VAT wing under the Large Taxpayers Unit (LTU) collected Tk 341 million (34.10 crore) in July 07-January 08 against sales of cement. The figure during the corresponding period of last fiscal was Tk 438.3 million.
The revenue board, recently in a meeting, has directed its all commissioners to fix the actual price of cement in line with the present market price by March, said an NBR official.
Cement prices in the local market vary depending on different categories and brands, he said.
"There is a large scope of tax evasion in absence of any available price-fixing parameters to gauge VAT on sale of cement," he added.
Following a sharp downturn in the property market, sales of cement, a major raw material, declined significantly and thus affected the collection of VAT, he observed.
In 2007, the local construction sector consumed around 6.5 million tonnes of cement against the previous year's consumption of 7.5 million tonnes.
In the first six months of the current fiscal, the VAT department attained a growth of 20.24 per cent, up by 2.0 per cent from that of the corresponding period of the previous fiscal.