The government doubled the tax from 10 per cent to 20 per cent on commercially-run vehicles in the current fiscal year, which may have a cascading impact on road travel and haulage.
Revenue officials said the tax would be considered finally paid on incomes derived from the operations of commercial vehicles like air-conditioned bus, minibus, coaster and taxicab.
Until the just-concluded fiscal year (FY), the owners of these vehicles had paid presumptive taxes ranging from Tk 1,000 to Tk 20,000.
From the fiscal year 2014-15, presumptive taxes for commercially-run vehicles above10 years will be Tk 1,500 to Tk 15,000. It would be from Tk 3,000 to Tk 30,000 for vehicles below 10 years.
The National Board of Revenue (NBR) issued a Statutory Regulatory Order (SRO) increasing the tax rates for the owners of commercial vehicles, with effect from 1st July.
A large number of luxury buses, nowadays, plying the roads, especially Dhaka-Chittagong routes. Saudia-S.Alam, Green Line, Silk Line, and Shohagh Paribohan are among the high-end transport vehicles.
In 2009, the government hiked taxes up to 100 per cent on all types of commercial vehicles as they found rampant evasion, amid loud outcry from the transport owners.
Taxes on luxury buses increased by Tk 10,000 a year, minibus, coaster and five-tonne truck by Tk 2500, if below 10 years' life.
All modes of commercial vehicles saw the across-the-board hike. The taxed vehicles included 52-seater bus, cargo and container carriers, taxicab, human hauler, pickup, tank lorry, and small lorry.
One of the taxmen, justifying the tax measure, said: "Although the transport sector has witnessed a boom in the last few years, its contribution to the national exchequer remained insignificant."
According to Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) statistics, until May 2014, some 2.0 million motor vehicles had been plying the country's roads.
The tax officials said the government had fixed the tax at reduced rates aiming to encourage investment in road-transport sector and keep transportation cost low. Tax rates have been revised upward in the current FY after FY 2012-13.
Tax on air-conditioned taxicab, below 10 years, has also been raised by Tk 2,000 while by Tk 1,500 for above-10-year cabs.
Responding to a query about a hike in transportation cost with the increase in tax, a senior revenue board official said such an "insignificant increase would not leave any impact as actual turnover for the road-transport investors is quite higher than the presumptive base of taxmen".
The NBR, in another order Tuesday, also increased tax on private car owners having cars above 2500 CC. Three new slabs have been fixed for private cars, starting from 2500 CC to above 3500 CC.
Advance tax on microbus has also been raised by Tk 5,000 for the fiscal year (FY) 2014-15. However, tax would be 50 percent higher for those having more than one car.
Car owners will have to pay Tk 125,000 for private cars and jeeps above 3,500cc (cylinder capacity) while Tk 100,000 for cars and jeeps from 3,000cc to 3,500cc, Tk 75,000 for cars and jeeps from 2,500cc to 3,000cc on renewal of fitness and registration.
Currently, owners of private cars above 2,000cc have to pay the highest Tk 50,000 as advance tax.
Now, they will have to pay Tk 50,000 for cars and jeeps from 2,000cc to 2,500cc.
Advance tax for up to 1,500cc car and from 1,500cc to 2,000cc will remain unchanged at Tk 15,000 and Tk 30,000 in the current fiscal year.
Private car owners can adjust the advance tax against private cars with their annual payable tax at the time of submission of tax returns.
© 2024 - All Rights with The Financial Express
