All budgetary allocations will now be disbursed within two months

All budgetary allocations will, from now on, be disbursed within the month of August to pace up public works, Finance Minister AMA Muhith told lawmakers.
At a pre-budget discussion on Tuesday night, the MPs complained to the minister that most of the institutions do not get their budgetary allocations on time, which very often hinders their activities.
Mr Muhith said all ministries, divisions or directorates concerned should inform the offices under their jurisdiction about their allocation within two months.
He identified lack of quality human resources and ethical degradation as two of the main reasons behind such problem in monetary matters.
Asked how much of work is being lost due to these problems, the minister wouldn't elaborate.
"Despite all the odds, we are doing well -- the progress is there. Hardly will you get any hardcore poor people in the country nowadays, whereas about 70 per cent of the population was below the poverty line when the country became liberated," he said.
The minister stated this while talking to journalists at Padma Guesthouse on Tuesday night after the pre-budget discussion with members of all parliamentary standing committees.
About resource-mobilisation plan, he said tax offices will be set up in every upazila by the fiscal year 2020-21 to bring huge population with taxable income in the countryside under the tax net.
"At present there are only 62 upazilas having tax offices. We want to bring all the upazilas under the tax net," he said.
The finance minister viewed that economic activities in upazilas had increased substantially over the years and there remained many people having taxable income who were out of the tax net. He expects to net enormous revenues from upazila level.
National Board of Revenue (NBR) chairman Md. Nojibur Rahman, who assisted the finance minister, said the government is going to recruit some 100 officials soon.
"Once recruited, we will start working to set up tax offices at upazila level," said the chairman of the revenue board.
Lawmakers attending the meeting demanded reduction in duties on import of hybrid cars and imposition of duties on import of solar panels as a good number of local companies are producing the electrical device.
The minister, however, said taxes imposed on import of the hybrid vehicles are very nominal--as low as 45 per cent--as against 300-500 per cent in case of other modes of transport.
He, nevertheless, agreed that the cars are undoubtedly environment-friendly and suggested use of those cars as well as the sensing lights and fans which reduce energy use.   
The meeting was attended by state minister for finance Abdul Mannan and chiefs of 15 parliamentary standing committees, including Saber Hossain Chowdhury, Dr Hasan Mahmud and ABM Tajul Islam.
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