VAT on private varsities to go

The formal announcement of withdrawal of value-added tax (VAT), imposed by the government in the FY16 budget on tuition fees of private universities, will come shortly. The National Board of Revenue (NBR) is expected to make the announcement on Monday afternoon. On Sunday, Finance Minister AMA Muhith had hinted that the government may back down on VAT, saying it was 'not rigid'. He said the government would reach an honourable solution to these complications very soon. The minister was speaking with reporters at the Secretariat. The students have been protesting since the 2015-2016 fiscal’s budget imposed the 7.5 per cent VAT on tuition fees of the private universities, medical and engineering colleges. Students of almost all private universities have been staging nonstop streets demonstrations for the last one week demanding lifting of VAT on tuition fees, fearing their institutions would eventually force the burden on them by increasing their tuition fees. On Friday, they announced a three-day strike at all private institutions across Bangladesh and continued their demonstrations in Dhaka, Chittagong and other major cities till Monday. Amid the protests, the Bangladesh Private University Association, an organisation of the owners, urged the government to withdraw the imposed VAT. The protests threw traffic of the capital out of gear, creating immense sufferings to the commuters.
- biplab