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‘No scope’ for refund to customers

REZAUL KARIM | 2022-01-05 00:00:00

The law ministry sees no option for payback of defrauded e-commerce customers’ money stuck up after the online businesses concerned went bust. As a result, insiders say, a cloud of uncertainty looms large over settlement of the prevailing stalemate over...

Nonstarter startups, delinquent cos create corporate tax gaps

DOULOT AKTER MALA | 2022-01-04 00:00:00

A perpetual gap between the number of registered companies and corporate taxpayers is now bridged, but through an unsparing measure that some experts worry would raise the cost of doing business. Sources say there had been inherent inconsistencies between the...

Removal of non-tariff barriers to top agenda

SYFUL ISLAM | 2022-01-04 00:00:00

Commerce secretaries of Bangladesh and India will sit together in mid-February to discuss some pending bilateral trade issues where Dhaka will give special focus on removal of non-tariff barriers, officials said.The non-tariff barriers (NTBs) are considered as main reasons behind...

BRT project lies like lame duck

Munima Sultana | 2022-01-04 00:00:00

Hope for rapid bus ride on Dhaka city's bumpy north corridor soon looks dashed with the priority project now turning a 'lame duck' allegedly for planning mismatch and faltering execution. Sources say a ray of hope sparked about getting an...

Tax receipts from DSE jump 65pc in July-Dec

BABUL BARMAN | 2022-01-04 00:00:00

The government revenue earnings from the Dhaka bourse surged by 65 per cent in July-December 2021 compared to the same period a year earlier backed by rising trading volume.Market analysts said backed by rising turnover and bullish capital market, the...

World without moral compass

Syed Fattahul Alim | 2022-01-04 00:00:00

Said to be South Africa's national conscience, Archbishop Desmond Tutu has been laid to rest at the St. Georges Cathedral in Cape Town. Of the many losses that humanity suffered in 2021, a notable one was the demise of Nobel...

Journey towards inclusive growth: challenges and policy imperatives for Bangladesh at 50 and beyond

M Abu Eusuf and Rabiul Islam Rabi | 2022-01-04 00:00:00

Fifty years ago, inheriting a fragile and war-devastated economy, Bangladesh faced a herculean task of moving forward dealing with poverty, deprivation, natural disasters, and political instability. Fast forward five decades, Bangladesh is now often cited as a development success story...

July-Nov trade gap doubles to $12.53b

SIDDIQUE ISLAM | 2022-01-03 00:00:00

Bangladesh saw its trade deficit more than double in the first five months of the current fiscal year as higher import-payment pressure on the economy causes account imbalance, officials say.The deficit in trade with the rest of the world widened...

Most corporate tax returns may need amnesty

DOULOT AKTER MALA | 2022-01-03 00:00:00

Some two-thirds of the corporate-tax returns may need general amnesty or get penalized by taxmen as their current tax year's pre-verified financial statements are unlikely to match with previous ones.From the current tax year, all of the corporate taxpayers have...

Muscle flexing and might is right

Neil Ray | 2022-01-03 00:00:00

Usually incidents of gross injustice taking place in rural settings do not make screaming headlines unless there is a twist of sensationalism. What happened the other day to examinees appearing from Jajira College at the fourth year degree honours examination...

Classified loans: Worries abound

Shamsul Huq Zahid | 2022-01-03 00:00:00

The situation with the non-performing loans (NPLs) in the country's banking sector is quite perplexing. The size of the NPLs, huge as it is, according to the Prime Minister's Economic Affairs Adviser, Dr Mashiur Rahman, has now gone beyond control....

Public procurement -- not as righteous as it seems

Maswood Alam Khan | 2022-01-03 00:00:00

When governments buy products and services, corruption occurs in all parts of the world. Bangladesh is no exception. Corruption has historically been rife in public procurements on our soil due to a lack of checks and balances. When public officials...

BSEC seeks tax relief for all investors in all types of bonds

MOHAMMAD MUFAZZAL | 2022-01-02 00:00:00

The securities regulator has recommended making tax-exemption facility available for all investors in all types of bonds to help encourage mobilisation of funds from the capital market for the sake of the country's industrialisation.The Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC)...

Many companies skip tax compliance

DOULOT AKTER MALA | 2022-01-02 00:00:00

Corporate tax returns submitted annually in Bangladesh have staggered around only 30,000 during the last seven years despite its economy having nearly tripled in size during the period, as many companies skip costly compliance, sources say. Official statistics show the...

Some pvt banks make better operating profit

SIDDIQUE ISLAM | 2022-01-01 00:00:00

Bangladesh's private commercial banks (PCBs) saw their operating profit grow substantially in the just-concluded calendar year chiefly for lower cost of funds and private-sector- credit growth, sources say.A rebound in foreign trade, covering export and import, from the previous year's...

Maiden agrivoltaic plant signs PPA with BPDB

SYFUL ISLAM | 2022-01-01 00:00:00

Construction of the country's first agrivoltaic solar power plant is set to begin soon, with the signing of a power purchase agreement with Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) last Wednesday.Soudia Agro Solar PV Power Plant Ltd managing director Mumtahina Mostafa...

Stocks bounce back in final week of 2021

BABUL BARMAN | 2022-01-01 00:00:00

Stocks bounced back in the final week of 2021, offering a ray of hope for the market into the New Year, with investors showing their buying interest in sector-specific issues.The week featured five trading days as usual, with three sessions...

Precaution and preparedness for Omicron

Monirul Haque Rony | 2022-01-01 00:00:00

As the world just started turning around after the first and second shocks from the Corona, its new variant, Omicron, is giving the world an anxious time. The World Health Organisation (WHO) has already described it as a 'variant of...

Is rising inflation ominous?

Syed Fattahul Alim | 2022-01-01 00:00:00

The rising inflation is a headache not only for the policymakers in Bangladesh but also for their kinds everywhere. It is a global issue. But for the common people, inflation means erosion of their real income. As economists differ on...

Transport fare hike outshines progress in mega projects

MUNIMA SULTANA | 2021-12-31 12:00:00

The country's communications sector witnessed a mixed experience of success and failure in the year 2021. The development projects have made some progress despite being affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, but the transportation services segment experienced severe accidents while travellers'...

Capital market sees off eventful year

MOHAMMAD MUFAZZAL and BABUL BARMAN | 2021-12-31 00:00:00

The country's capital market passed yet another eventful year with a 25 per cent return in the core index of the main bourse despite tussles between the two regulatory bodies concerned over some policy issues.During the outgoing year 2021, the...

E-payment of VAT above Tk 5.0m a must from Jan 1

DOULOT AKTER MALA | 2021-12-31 00:00:00

Businesses will have to pay VAT amounting to Tk 5.0 million and above in a single challan through online mode on a mandatory basis from January 1, 2022 (Saturday).The National Board of Revenue (NBR) made the e-payment mandatory by issuing...

Loan-repayment policy relaxed for all sectors

SIDDIQUE ISLAM | 2021-12-31 00:00:00

The central bank relaxes further the loan-repayment policy for all the sectors to expedite Bangladesh's economic recovery from the fallout of Covid-19 pandemic.Under the relaxed stance, the borrowers will get a fresh chance to remain unclassified if they repay minimum...

Vocational training: Integral policy measure for reducing youth unemployment

Joydeep Sinha Roy, Narayan Das and Tanjim-Ul-Islam | 2021-12-31 00:00:00

Youth unemployment is a burning issue for Bangladesh's economy. According to the Quarterly Labour Force Survey 2015/16, the youth unemployment rate stands at a staggering 8.7 per cent whereas the national unemployment rate is 4.2 per cent. Hence, the severity...

PM's visit to the Maldives

Ozair Islam | 2021-12-31 00:00:00

In March 2014, Malé decided to close its High Commission office in Dhaka because of the reduction in the annual budget. At that time, Dhaka offered to pay the rent for the Maldives' embassy office and bear other official expenditures...

Will 2022 give a respite from Covid-19?

Nilratan Halder | 2021-12-31 00:00:00

As the curtain is about to fall on a year that has seen both unprecedented highs and lows in human spirit on account of the worst pandemic in history, the world people look forward to the New Year for a...

Half of BO accounts exist in name only!

MOHAMMAD MUFAZZAL | 2021-12-30 00:00:00

Around half of the active BO (beneficiary owner) accounts have not played any role in daily transactions over the years as those accounts either have zero balance or have never been used in share trading.On the other hand, an investor...

BSEC keeps banks' 'full discretion' unchanged

MOHAMMAD MUFAZZAL | 2021-12-30 00:00:00

The securities regulator has decided to keep unchanged the banks' 'full discretion' regarding cancellation of distributions or payments - to facilitate their capital formation through issuing perpetual bonds.In a letter, sent to the Bangladesh Bank (BB) on Wednesday, the Bangladesh...

Hungry market devours govt Sukuk

SIDDIQUE ISLAM | 2021-12-30 00:00:00

Bangladesh's hungry securities market swallows a gain-only bond as the Tk 50-billion government Sukuk was oversubscribed nearly five times to Tk 233.04 billion in its auction held Wednesday.A total of 31 institutions -- both conventional and Shariah-compliant financial institutions --...

What a young adult's new year resolution may look like

Ipshita Maliat Rahman | 2021-12-30 00:00:00

Youth must be one of the most confusing states ever. One day someone is a student full of energy doing every activity under the sky, and the next day they're expected to work to pay bills, take responsibility, and start...