National Board of Revenue (NBR) chairman Md Abdur Rahman Khan has complained about not getting VAT invoices or receipts even at famous restaurants in the elite areas of the capital.
He said that in the last one and a half year despite making purchases from various places, he did not get VAT invoices in most cases.
He shared this experience at the pre-budget discussion held at the NBR building in Agargaon on Wednesday (April 1).
The NBR chairman said that he recently organized a dinner with 14 friends at a famous restaurant in Dhanmondi. The event was in honor of a friend of his who had come from Canada. However, no VAT invoice was given after the meal.
He also said that two days ago, he bought sweets from a shop on his way to a relative's house, but no receipt was given there either.
Khan said: “I have shopped at various places in the last one and a half years, but in most cases I have not received a VAT invoice. The reality is that the culture of issuing VAT invoices has not yet developed. If we do not accept this reality, it will be difficult to move forward.”
At this time, he told the businessmen that as a buyer, everyone is supposed to receive a VAT invoice at the time of shopping. However, in reality, this is not happening.
To change this situation, the NBR is working to simplify the process for taxpayers.
On the other hand, Bangladesh Hotel, Restaurant and Bar Owners Association President Major (retd) M Jahangir Hossain criticized the behavior of VAT officials during the pre-budget discussion.
He alleged that the establishments that regularly pay VAT are the ones who are being harassed the most. Sometimes the officials apply excessive pressure. In some cases, there have been incidents of physical harassment.
He said that cases are also ongoing in the court against several NBR officials on such allegations.
Jahangir Hossain said that comparing a large company in Banani with a small shop in Paltan, the same type of tax pressure and treatment is applied, which is unreasonable in many cases.
In response to this, the NBR chairman said that one of the reasons for the pressure on officials at the field level is the lack of actual sales data. In many cases, even though VAT is collected from buyers, it is not deposited in the government treasury.
He said that if traders maintain software and accounts properly, these complications will be reduced to a great extent. At the same time, he also called for getting out of the culture of hiding sales data.