Compliant businesses will receive honour cards, involving various financial, legal and social benefits, on regular submission of their Value Added Tax (VAT) returns under the new VAT law.
The Vat and Supplementary Duty (SD) Act 2012, to be effective from July 1, 2017, has kept the provision to encourage traders with incentives, including discount in shopping and some services.
The honour card will be required for participating in tenders, applying for bank loans, supply of goods and services to any source VAT-deducting agencies, and renewing bond licence.
The VAT honour card will be provided from July 1, 2018. It could be a plastic or virtual card with a specific code number that the businessmen have to obtain to enjoy financial and social benefits.
The VAT Rules 2016 incorporated the provision of providing VAT honour card to the businesses, who will submit returns regularly for 12 months.
Officials said the honour card provision will ensure regular submission of VAT returns by the businesses.
Currently, some 8,40,000 traders have business identification number (BIN), but less than 32,000 of them file VAT returns regularly.
Under the VAT law, the VAT-registered businesses require to file VAT returns every month, while the turnover VAT-registered traders are to file returns four times a year.
The honour card holders may enjoy discounts ranging from 5.0 per cent to 15 per cent on shopping and in restaurants, hospitals, fashion houses, brand shops and hotels.
The card will be used in supply of goods and services to the agencies, which deduct VAT at sources.
It will also be needed for registering movable assets in the name of VAT-registered persons, and for getting loan approvals from any banks.
NBR has also decided to arrange lottery with attractive prizes in every two months for VAT-paying consumers. The consumers have to obtain VAT receipt after purchasing goods and services, on which VAT is applicable, for the lottery.
A lottery with consumer receipt numbers of VAT challan will be held in every two months, starting from this September. The winners will get prize-bond worth Tk 0.1 million in every draw, with first prize worth Tk 50,000.
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