Duty drawback, exemption system simplified
Thursday, 18 March 2010
Doulot Akter Mala
The Duty Exemption and Drawback Office (DEDO) has taken a massive reform plan to expedite its services and resolve misunderstanding between the stakeholders.
It has introduced a system under which businessmen will submit all documents at a time seeking duty drawback or exemption. The office has also introduced drawback system of Value Added Tax (VAT) in knitwear, shrimp and indirect exports.
"The office is now refunding taxes regularly following applications of exporters. There is no genuine complaints of businesses of not getting drawback in time," said Director General of DEDO Mohammad Nasir Uddin.
The office has refunded taxes worth Tk 735 million in the first seven months of the current fiscal against Tk 286 million in 2007-08, he said.
The rule of submitting all documents at a time has worked effectively for refunding taxes within a short time to the businesses, he said.
Earlier, the office used to receive whatever papers the exporters submitted to the office. For this reason, businessmen had to come to the DEDO many times for submitting documents.
"There was a big communication gap and disputes arose between DEDO and the exporters which delayed the refund. Exporters claimed that they had to provide numerous documents in phases for getting the tax refund," Mr Nasir said.
The DEDO is now collecting the necessary documents at a time so that the exporters are not required to visit the office several times, he said.
The DEDO is now able to dispose of the drawback application within eight hours to 48 hours due to submission of all documents at a time.
The number of file disposal has increased significantly due to such simplified steps. In December, 2009, the DEDO received 123 applications while it disposed of 231 files.
To avoid unusual delay, the office is now conducting consultative committee meetings every three months with different exporting associations, including Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA) and chamber bodies.
The office is also holding meetings with representatives of Bangladesh Bank (BB), Regulatory Reforms Commission (RRC) and National Board of Revenue (NBR) every six months to discuss ways of resolving exporters' problems with getting back their tax money.
Audit objections against the department also declined to three involving Tk 1.2 million which was 971 and 321 with Tk 1.09 billion and Tk 3.23 billion earlier.
DEDO has found that most of the previous audit objections were baseless and irrelevant. The office has requested the concerned authority to withdraw those objections.
The Duty Exemption and Drawback Office (DEDO) has taken a massive reform plan to expedite its services and resolve misunderstanding between the stakeholders.
It has introduced a system under which businessmen will submit all documents at a time seeking duty drawback or exemption. The office has also introduced drawback system of Value Added Tax (VAT) in knitwear, shrimp and indirect exports.
"The office is now refunding taxes regularly following applications of exporters. There is no genuine complaints of businesses of not getting drawback in time," said Director General of DEDO Mohammad Nasir Uddin.
The office has refunded taxes worth Tk 735 million in the first seven months of the current fiscal against Tk 286 million in 2007-08, he said.
The rule of submitting all documents at a time has worked effectively for refunding taxes within a short time to the businesses, he said.
Earlier, the office used to receive whatever papers the exporters submitted to the office. For this reason, businessmen had to come to the DEDO many times for submitting documents.
"There was a big communication gap and disputes arose between DEDO and the exporters which delayed the refund. Exporters claimed that they had to provide numerous documents in phases for getting the tax refund," Mr Nasir said.
The DEDO is now collecting the necessary documents at a time so that the exporters are not required to visit the office several times, he said.
The DEDO is now able to dispose of the drawback application within eight hours to 48 hours due to submission of all documents at a time.
The number of file disposal has increased significantly due to such simplified steps. In December, 2009, the DEDO received 123 applications while it disposed of 231 files.
To avoid unusual delay, the office is now conducting consultative committee meetings every three months with different exporting associations, including Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA) and chamber bodies.
The office is also holding meetings with representatives of Bangladesh Bank (BB), Regulatory Reforms Commission (RRC) and National Board of Revenue (NBR) every six months to discuss ways of resolving exporters' problems with getting back their tax money.
Audit objections against the department also declined to three involving Tk 1.2 million which was 971 and 321 with Tk 1.09 billion and Tk 3.23 billion earlier.
DEDO has found that most of the previous audit objections were baseless and irrelevant. The office has requested the concerned authority to withdraw those objections.