National Board of Revenue (NBR) Chairman Abu Hena Md Rahmatul Muneem on Wednesday said that all cable TV operators would be brought under the tax net.
“Whatever tax we get from the cable tv operators is very insignificant and there is a scope for further expanding the tax net. We want to explore that and there is a need to bring all cable operators under a single platform. There is a need to digitalize the system,” he said.
The NBR Chairman was addressing a pre-budget meeting today for the next fiscal year (FY22) with the leaders of Newspapers Owners’ Association of Bangladesh (NOAB) and the Association of Television Channel Owners (ATCO).
Muneem said with the support of all associations of cable tv operators, it would be possible to bring all operators under VAT registration and e-TIN. “If so, we will be able to generate more revenues,”
The NBR Chairman said he would request the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and the ICT Division to frame a policy to bring all the cable operators under one platform.
Responding to the recommendation from the NOAB to withdraw import duty and VAT on newsprint, he said import duty and VAT is being imposed on import of newsprint to not only generate revenues, but also to safeguard the local industry.
Muneem said some local industries are now producing newsprint and their standards of produced newsprint would be reviewed.
Taking part in the budget discussion, NOAB President and editor of Daily Samakal AK Azad said that the newspaper industry is now going through a bad time due to the COVID-19 pandemic and it is not possible to keep this industry alive giving only tax and VAT facilities.
He said the newspaper owners now have to pay 30 percent VAT and duty in total including 5 percent import duty. For this, there is a need to withdraw this 5 percent import duty alongside reducing other tax rates.
ATCO President Mozammel Babu urged the government to declare the electronic media as an industry like the newspaper industry which would ultimately simplify the procedure for providing tax and VAT by the electronic media owners.
He opined that at least one fourth of the local advertisements, especially those of the multinational companies are being aired in the foreign channels for which the government is loosing revenues to a big extent.
Babu said if such practice and trend could be checked, then the government would be able to earn a lot more revenues adding that at least Taka 4,000 crore revenues could be generated from this sector every year if the cable operators could be brought under discipline or the system could be digitalized.
The Daily Star editor Mahfuz Anam and Daily Bonik Barta editor Hanif Mahmud also spoke.
