Nasrul for removing TIN requirement for lifeline subscribers

State Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Nasrul Hamid requested on Monday the finance ministry to withdraw the budget proposal for submission of Tax Identification Number (TIN) by lifeline subscribers to get power connection, reports BSS.

"The lifeline subscribers are extremely poor as they usually consume electricity below 50 units per month and most of them are day-labourers. They will face trouble in getting TIN and it will be inhumane," he told the news agency on Monday.

The state minister issued a Demand Order (DO) and sent it to Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal for withdrawing the proposal made in the new national budget.

Nasrul said that as per the election manifesto the Awami League government has a target to supply electricity to every house by 2021. So this budget proposal will go against the target, he added.

He said the total number of subscribers has reached 33.4 million (3.34 crore), of which 26.4 million (2.64 crore) are under Bangladesh Rural Electrification Board (BREB) including 12.0 million (1.20 crore) lifeline subscribers.

According to the power ministry, the lifeline subscribers are identified on the basis of their highest (50 units) use of electricity per month.