National Board of Revenue (NBR) has failed to impose environment protection surcharge from the polluting companies in the first month of introduction.
The surcharge which is called “green tax” was introduced in the budget of fiscal year 2014-15 beginning from July.
A compiled list of polluting companies is yet to be prepared. A high official of NBR said the Department of Environment is dillydallying in the process and showing reluctance to help the Board get the list.
He said such non-cooperation is delaying the start of imposing green tax on the polluting factories.
The official alleged NBR has repeatedly asked the Department of Environment authorities to provide a list of polluting firms as the Board cannot issue official gazette notification without such a list.
“Until we get the names of polluting companies, we cannot implement green tax rules.”
The government has introduced 1% environment protection surcharge or green tax on the prices of each product produced by companies polluting environment in different ways.
In his budget speech, Finance Minister AMA Muhith said the tax would be imposed to encourage owners of the environment polluting factories to set up effluent treatment plants (ETP) and raise awareness among them about harmful impacts of pollution on the environment.
A large number of factories of leather, dyeing, printing, chemical and textile sector industries are polluting air, soil and water through releasing industrial wastes.
When contacted, officials of Environment Department, however, denied allegations of non-cooperation and dillydallying.
They said as there was no such a compiled list before and the green tax system is new in Bangladesh, the process is taking some time.
“We have no such compiled list as the system has been introduced for the first time in the country. First we will provide a list of factories that were earlier fined for environment pollution,” said an official at Department of Environment who is involved with the process.
“NBR should have to wait some more time as we are working to prepare a compiled and appropriate list to implement the surcharge policy,” he added.