No business without fees

Businesses will have to pay new and additional fees against 46 services they need for doing business, putting extra pressure on the already struggling business community.

The new service charges will come into effect from September 1, according to a Ministry of Commerce notification, issued on Sunday.

With the imposition of new charges, the number of services subject to government fees now stands at 52, from only six.

Charges for Import Registration Certificate (IRC) and Export Registration Certificate (ERC) have been increased between 11.11 per cent to 42.85 per cent. However, in the case of small companies (Tk 5-25 lakh), the charge has remained unchanged.

Currently, the Office of the Chief Controller of Imports and Exports under the Ministry of Commerce provides various services against marginal fees. They are commercial and industrial IRC, IRC renewal, ERC, ERC renewal and formalin production, import, storage and for issuing sale license.

New fees range from Tk 1,000 to Tk 5,000 with the exception of private firm arm import which is subject to a new fee of Tk 25,000. The license fee for production and import of formalin has been increased by Tk 50,000, says the government notification.

As a result, the maximum fee to get a license for formalin production has been fixed at TK 3 lakh, and Tk 2.5 lakh fixed for formalin import. In the case of storage and sale of formalin, the charge has been increased from Tk 25,000 to Tk 1,25,000.

“As per the decision of the Ministries of Finance and Commerce, all types of export and import services will face new and additional charges,” Additional Chief Controller Nandan Kumar Banik told The Business post.

The move comes after the finance ministry asked all government ministries and divisions for measures to enhance non-tax revenue amid resource crisis of the government, and to meet soaring costs of the government.

FBCCI Senior Vice President Mostofa Ayad Chowdhury Babu said the businesses are going through a crisis period, and such a development will negatively impact them. He urged the government to not impose new fees before the fledgling economy gets improved.

As per the notification, the IRC registration fee has been increased by Tk 6,000 to Tk 24,000 for imports worth between Tk 25 lakh and Tk 50 lakh. The registration fee for the range from Tk 50 lakh to Tk 1 crore has been increased by Tk 10,000 to Tk 40,000. The registration fee for imports worth between Tk 1 crore and Tk 5 crore has been increased by Tk 5,000 to Tk 50,000.

The new import limit has been set from Tk 5 crore to Tk 20 crore. The import registration fee for imports between Tk5 crore and 20 crore has been fixed at Tk 60,000. The registration fee for the imports from Tk 20 crore to Tk 50 crore has been fixed at Tk 70,000.

Meanwhile, the registration fee for the export registration certificate has been increased by Tk 3,000 to Tk 10,000 and for renewal by Tk 2,000 to Tk 7,000. The fee for availing ERC of Indenting Service has been increased from Tk 10,000 to Tk 50,000. For changing name-address and ownership of organisations, banks, and changes for import limit and registration ownership, a fee of Tk 2,000 has to be paid, as per the new order of the commerce ministry.

Fees have been imposed for services like opening of LC and extension of shipping time, clearance permits, exemption from IRC, amendment of an export permit, the extension of export permit etc.