Owners want shops open till 10pm

Platforms of shop owners on Thursday called on the government to allow them to keep their shops open till 10:00pm or more during the month of Ramadan, stopping harassment in the name of protecting consumer rights.

They also called for the introduction of an easy VAT system that requires lesser bookkeeping and stopping harassment by VAT officials.

The Bangladesh Dokan Byabasayi Malik Samiti and the Dhaka Metropolitan Dokan Byabasayi Malik Samiti came up with the demands at a joint press conference at the Dhaka Reporter Unity.

Md Arifur Rahman Tipu, president of the Dhaka Metropolitan Dokan Byabasayi Malik Samiti, said the government forced them to close shops by 8:00pm as an austerity measure. “If we are forced to close shops by 8:00pm during Ramadan, we will suffer a huge loss. We ask the government to allow us to keep shops open up to 10:00pm till Ramadan 15. During the last two weeks of Ramadan before Eid-ul-Fitr, we want to keep shops open as long as customers remain present,” he said.

Tipu added that they are the worst victim of the ‘austerity measure’ by closing shops. “If the shopping hour is not extended during the festival, the shop owners will suffer from huge losses,” he said.

Responding to a question on the price hike of commodities, Bangladesh Dokan Byabasayi Malik Samiti President Nazmul Hasan Mahmud said shopkeepers neither produce any product nor import those. “It is not possible for shopkeepers to manipulate the market through syndication. Ahead of the month of Ramadan every year, some unscrupulous businessmen manipulate commodity prices through syndication,” he added.

He said some 15 to 20 importers, distributors, and wholesalers of essential commodities manipulate the market. “We urge the authorities concerned to take stern action against these people,” he said.

Nazmul Hasan said the drives of the consumer rights protection department bring harassment to the shopkeepers. “Before conducting such drives, there should be a clear policy on the amount of commodities the retailers, dealers, distributors, or wholesalers can stock,” he said.

The association leaders called for simplifying the VAT system introducing 15 per cent VAT on their neat profit instead of the present 5 per cent VAT on total sales that requires keeping five books. “It’s impossible for a small shop owner to keep five books,” said Nazmul Hasan.

The associations also proposed the formation of a committee comprising representatives of shop owners and ministries concerned to fix the rate of neat profit in retailing and wholesaling,

Nazmul Hasan Mahmud said there are around 54 lakh shops and they create employment for nearly two crore people across the country.