Delay payment for projects to resolve forex crisis

The Institute of Cost and Manage-ment Accountants of Bangladesh (ICMAB) has recommended delaying payment for the projects that have no urgency right now for at least six months to overcome the prevailing foreign exchange crisis.
The ICMAB also suggested keeping the minimum 50 per cent margin against letters of credit (LC).
In its proposal, the national body of accountants recommended reinforcing the financial sector through augmenting good governance, digitisation and financial inclusion.
The recommendations came at a roundtable discussion on the national budget 2022-23 organised by the Institute at the ICMAB Auditorium in city on Tuesday.
Planning Minister MA Mannan attended it as the chief guest and Comptroller and Auditor General of Bangladesh Mohammad Muslim Chowdhury, chairman of Agrani Bank Ltd Dr Zahid Bakht and Distinguished Fellow of Centre for Policy Dialogue Prof Mustafizur Rahman were present as special guests.
Senior Executive Vice-President and head of Operations of LankaBangla Finance Limited AKM Kamruzzaman FCMA made a presentation on the salient features of the upcoming budget.
The roundtable was told that Bangladesh should addresses the challenges of creating jobs through a competitive business environment, human capital development, up-skilling and re-skilling, efficient infrastructure and a policy environment that attracts private investments.
The government should set development priorities including diversifying exports beyond the RMG sector, the discussants recommended.
They opined that addressing infrastructure gaps would accelerate growth and reduce spatial disparities in opportunities across regions and within cities.
Pivoting towards green growth would support the sustainability of development outcomes for the next generation, they observed.
Bringing out digital transformation would increase substantially global competitiveness, they viewed.
Good governance in public-private sector along with state administration is a significant way forward to reduce cost of development and ensure optimum value for money, they noted.
Along with a set of 40 proposals, the ICMAB also proposed to remove the provision for tax on stock dividends, increase in presumptive tax by measuring actual profit of motor vehicles for commercial use, exempting senior citizens from tax return whose sources of income are pension and interest on savings.
ICMAB President Md Mamunur Rashid presided over the discussion. Seminar and Conference Committee chairman AKM Delwer Hussain delivered inaugural speech. Council member of ICMAB Abu Sayed Md Shaykhul Islam FCMA moderated the session and Md Munirul Islam gave concluding speech.

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