The National Board of Revenue (NBR) has decided to revert the value-added tax rate in the restaurant sector to its previous 5%, according to Mohammad Belal Hossain Chowdhury, a member (VAT Policy) of the NBR.
The government had moved away from its earlier decision to impose a 15% VAT on the restaurant sector, opting to restore the earlier rate of 5%, Belal said on Thursday.
He added that the NBR would issue an order regarding this either on Thursday or by Sunday.
Earlier, on Wednesday, a letter signed by Md Mashiur Rahman, first secretary of the NBR's VAT policy division, was sent to the Bangladesh Restaurant Owners’ Association.
The letter stated that following the association’s appeal, a decision has been made to review the VAT rate for this sector.
The VAT rate for restaurants had been 5% for a long time. However, on January 9, it was increased threefold to 15%.
Along with this, VAT and supplementary duties on nearly 100 products and services were raised, sparking widespread public outcry and threats of protests from business owners across the country.