NBR, BPC given 2 weeks to settle disputes over payment of duty
Tuesday, 1 January 2008
FE Report
An inter-ministerial meeting has asked the National Board of Revenue (NBR) and Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC) to settle their differences over the payment of customs duty on imported petroleum products facilitating adjustment of BPC's arrear fuel oil bills with Biman.
The relevant government agencies met Sunday to discuss the settlement process of the BPC's long outstanding fuel bills with former Bangladesh Biman Corporation, official sources said.
According to official sources, the Biman owed the BPC -- the state-run petroleum marketing entity -- more than Tk 17 billion for purchasing fuel on deferred payments.
Senior officials from ministries of finance, energy, NBR, BPC and Biman were present at the meeting, held at the Secretariat.
"The meeting has given the two agencies -- NBR and BPC -- two weeks time to resolve their dispute over the duty pending with BPC on account of petroleum oil import," said an official.
The meeting issued the directive after inconsistencies were found in duty-related figures, the official noted.
After the resolution of the disputes, the concerned agencies will sit again to discuss the settlement process of the long outstanding fuel bills, an Energy Division official told the FE.
The official, however, indicated that there was a proposal for adjusting the Biman's arrear bills with import duties that the BPC owed to the NBR against the import of petroleum oil.
Although the Biman was recently converted into a public limited company and renamed as 'Biman Bangladesh Airlines Limited (BBAL)', the arrear fuel bills still remained unsettled.
The Biman could not pay its dues to the BPC mainly because of its financial constraint, caused due to sustained operating losses. Official figures suggested that it had incurred a loss to the tune of Tk 12 billion in fiscal year 2006-07 alone.
An inter-ministerial meeting has asked the National Board of Revenue (NBR) and Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC) to settle their differences over the payment of customs duty on imported petroleum products facilitating adjustment of BPC's arrear fuel oil bills with Biman.
The relevant government agencies met Sunday to discuss the settlement process of the BPC's long outstanding fuel bills with former Bangladesh Biman Corporation, official sources said.
According to official sources, the Biman owed the BPC -- the state-run petroleum marketing entity -- more than Tk 17 billion for purchasing fuel on deferred payments.
Senior officials from ministries of finance, energy, NBR, BPC and Biman were present at the meeting, held at the Secretariat.
"The meeting has given the two agencies -- NBR and BPC -- two weeks time to resolve their dispute over the duty pending with BPC on account of petroleum oil import," said an official.
The meeting issued the directive after inconsistencies were found in duty-related figures, the official noted.
After the resolution of the disputes, the concerned agencies will sit again to discuss the settlement process of the long outstanding fuel bills, an Energy Division official told the FE.
The official, however, indicated that there was a proposal for adjusting the Biman's arrear bills with import duties that the BPC owed to the NBR against the import of petroleum oil.
Although the Biman was recently converted into a public limited company and renamed as 'Biman Bangladesh Airlines Limited (BBAL)', the arrear fuel bills still remained unsettled.
The Biman could not pay its dues to the BPC mainly because of its financial constraint, caused due to sustained operating losses. Official figures suggested that it had incurred a loss to the tune of Tk 12 billion in fiscal year 2006-07 alone.