The Office of the Registrar of Joint Stock Companies and Firms (RJSC) has warned of suspending services for 204,420 companies that have not paid value-added tax (VAT) against its service fees.
The RJSC made the announcement in a notice on Friday, following numerous warning letters sent by the National Board of Revenue (NBR) to the office.
According to the notice by RJSC, although the service fees for the fiscal years 2014-15 to 2017-18 were collected by the authorities, the imposed VAT of 15% on the fee was not collected for about 204,420 companies that have availed its services.
The RJSC charges fees at various rates for name clearance for registration of a new company, partnership firm, society, and trade organization; entity registration; returns filing; issuance of certified copy; winding up of a business; other services related to the formation of companies; and keeping track of ownership related documents.
The list of companies has already been published on the RJSC website, and they have been asked to immediately pay the dues with certain bank accounts of Eastern Bank, Brac Bank, and One Bank.
However, it did not set any deadline for paying the dues.
The firms will be able to print their outstanding VAT amount and deposit receipt online and deposit the money at the designated banks.
VAT on fees against various government services, registration, and licences has been applicable since FY2010, but most of the government entities did not realize the tax due to ignorance about the provision of the law.
The amount of VAT against a fee ranges from the lowest Tk30 to several thousand.
Field-level VAT offices of the NBR have started claiming the VAT from the agencies since 2014 when the VAT wing unearthed the issue.
