The National Board of Revenue has finally refused Rapid Action Battalion’s proposal of mobile court drive against value added tax evaders as it found the proposal “unacceptable” and “not considerable.”
The revenue authorities will continue its Vat collection activities under the existing mechanism and there is no place for confusion in this regard, the NBR said in a statement yesterday.
The NBR cleared its position yesterday after the newspaper reports highlighted the matter recently.
Finance Minister AMA Muhith also described the Rab’s proposal as “unacceptable” and “inconsiderate”.
He wrote the observation on a newspaper cutting in which a report on the issue was published. Elite force of police has recently came up with the proposal to associate the NBR in prevention of Vat evasion by amending the existing Mobile Court Act 2009, according to the statement.
It said after analysing and examining the proposal, the NBR found the proposal not acceptable and decided to continue the drive in its own way.
The statement also said NBR, which collects 85% of internal revenue, is promised to continue revenue collection through giving highest priority to benefits of its stakeholders.
Rab recently served a proposal to NBR to empower the force to conduct mobile court drives to prevent Vat evasion. The proposal sparked widespread criticisms among different quarters, including business community.
The Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and Industry described it as “dangerous” with a demand of halting any such move.
The Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) said the proposal had created panic of harrasment among businesses. They also termed the proposal as “completely illogical”.
