NBR Chairman Abdur Rahman Khan has said that VAT audits will remain suspended until the end of time, if necessary, until automation is introduced. He said, "Businessmen should not think that such steps have been taken to harass them unnecessarily. Work is underway on this."
NBR Chairman Abdur Rahman Khan made the remarks as the chief guest at a dialogue on tax and VAT reforms organized by the Center for Policy Dialogue (CPD) at a hotel in Gulshan on Tuesday. The dialogue was moderated by the organization's research director, Khandaker Golam Moazzem.
National Board of Revenue (NBR) Chairman Abdur Rahman Khan said, "We want to set a single VAT rate. But businessmen are the obstacles. Now you don't have to go to anyone to pay VAT. You can pay VAT from your own system with one click."
Regarding tax breaks, NBR Chairman Abdur Rahman said, "We urge domestic and foreign companies to invest by giving tax breaks to increase employment. But it turns out that even though the tax break is for eight years, the break continues for 40 years. There is inefficiency in revenue management, which we have to admit and move forward." According to him, the burden of foreign debt has increased significantly.
If we cannot increase our own revenue, it will be dangerous to repay these loans.
Regarding the reform of the revenue sector, the NBR Chairman further said, 'I have seen that 90 percent of the time is spent on various policy-related issues. So how can we give time to collect revenue? That is why we are separating the revenue sector into two departments. If two work instead of one, I hope the situation will improve.'
Calling the minimum tax rate provision an old-fashioned law, the NBR chairman said, "These will be lifted in the future. But if we do it now, revenue collection will decrease a lot. So, if these minimum taxes come into effect, we can help here." Business leaders, entrepreneurs and experts were present at the dialogue.