Category: Bangladesh
Transfer Pricing Cell to put 921 foreign companies under scanner
The National Board of Revenue (NBR) to scrutinise some 921 foreign companies operating in Bangladesh. ... - Continue reading
Dhaka, Prague sign deal to avoid double taxation
Bangladesh and the Czech Republic have signed a double taxation avoidance agreement (DTAA) in a bid to strengthen bilateral trade and investment ties between the two countries. National Board of Revenue (NBR) chairman Md Mosharraf Hossain Bhuiyan and Czech deputy prime minister and finance minister Alena Schillerova inked the agreement… – Continue reading
VAT on online purchase must if not paid by cos during sourcing: NBR
Value-added tax on online purchase of goods and services will be applicable if the e-commerce company concerned collects those from the original suppliers and manufacturers without paying VAT, according to the National Board of Revenue. ‘There will be no VAT on online purchase of any goods and services if the… – Continue reading
Banks tell BB single-digit rates not possible now
Top executives of banks on Sunday informed Bangladesh Bank that bringing down the interest rates to single digit would not be possible now considering the liquidity situation in the country’s banking sector. Some of the banks were even paying 9.5 per cent interest against deposits of state-owned entities and more… – Continue reading
Proposed tax on retained earnings may go: PM’s adviser
We are working at it,” said Salman F Rahman, prime minister’s adviser on private sector development, while replying to a question on Monday at the dissemination of ‘World Investment Report 2019’ in Dhaka. Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal has proposed to impose an additional 15 percent tax on the retained… – Continue reading
Tax on reserve to hit cos’ business expansion: ICAB
The imposition of 15 per cent tax on reserve and retained earnings of listed companies will reduce capital and expansion scope of the companies, said the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Bangladesh on Saturday. The ICAB made the statement in its post-budget review. Finance minister AHM Mustafa Kamal placed the… – Continue reading
NBR building up profiles of MNCs
National Board of Revenue is building up profiles of the multinational companies operating in the country for the purpose of conducting audits on the MNCs’ accounts to prevent tax evasion through misuse of transfer pricing system. Transfer Pricing Cell (TPC) of NBR is also conducting risk assessment of the companies’… – Continue reading
Third-party info system to check tax evasion likely
The government is likely to introduce third-party information system from the next financial year to check tax evasion as part of the government aim to mobilise half of the total revenue from income tax by 2020-21. Officials said that of the introduction of the system is likely to be proposed… – Continue reading
NBR for 30pc job quota for Bangladeshis
The National Board of Revenue recommended that the proposed guidelines on local entrepreneurs’ overseas investment should include provisions that the interested businesses have no overdue taxes in Bangladesh and have to employ minimum 30 per cent Bangladeshis in overseas projects. The NBR made the suggestions in its observations sent last… – Continue reading
Kamal says fully foreign-owned cos no more to be allowed
Finance minister AHM Mustafa Kamal has said that the foreign companies will be required to have local partners for doing business in Bangladesh as the government wants to bring them under the tax net. ‘No foreign company can do business alone here any longer,’ he told reporters on Thursday after… – Continue reading
Bangladesh lost $5.8m due to BATB’s profit shifting: rights group
Bangladesh has lost $5.8 million in tax revenue in 2016 due to profit shifting in forms of royalties, fees and IT charges by British American Tobacco Bangladesh, according to a recent report of Tax Justice Network. The UK-based tax rights group in the report said from 2014 to 2016 BAT… – Continue reading
Dhaka, Male agree to sign double taxation avoidance deal
Bangladesh and the Maldives agreed to sign double taxation avoidance agreement (DTAA) to boost bilateral trade. To this end, both the countries on Wednesday held the second round of negotiation in Dhaka at the BCS (Tax) Academy and signed an agreed minutes for the DTAA, said a National Board of… – Continue reading
SEC says Kamal assures tax incentives for stocks
Finance minister AHM Mustafa Kamal has assured Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission that he would consider addressing the issue of double taxation against investment in listed companies, BSEC said on Tuesday. The minister gave the assurance at a meeting with officials of the market regulator held at the BSEC office… – Continue reading
NBR to set up tax unit for foreign cos
National Board of Revenue has decided to set up a separate unit to handle income tax files of foreign companies operating in Bangladesh. The decision was taken responding to a proposal of the European Union for establishing a separate NBR unit for providing hassle-free services to foreign taxpayers. EU came… – Continue reading
Indian high commission seeks solution to tax-related problems
Indian high commission in Dhaka has requested different Bangladesh government agencies including National Board of Revenue to solve a number of tax-related ‘problems’ Indian chief executive officers-managed multinational companies are facing in the country. In a letter to NBR sent on September 10, the high commission said that Indian CEOs… – Continue reading
What offshore banking does
Offshore banking can play a crucial role, internationally and domestically The concept of offshore banking in Bangladesh is not new, and is getting very popular to among business-people in Bangladesh due to its overwhelming capacity to unlock the international financial settlement. Offshore banking, by its name and structure, can play… – Continue reading
NBR’s transfer pricing cell remains ineffective for 5yrs
Transfer pricing cell of National Board of Revenue has remained nearly dysfunctional since its formation five years back due mainly to lack of logistic support, expert and dedicated manpower and propelling initiative of the tax authorities. The cell even could not conduct audit on any statement of international transactions of… – Continue reading
Ensure foreign taxpayers have NBR certificates before allowing DTAA benefits
Bangladesh Bank on Monday asked all banks to ensure that foreigners have clearance certificates from the National Board of Revenue before allowing them tax benefits under double taxation avoidance agreement. Foreign Currency Policy Department of the central bank in a letter to the head offices of approved dealer banks suggested… – Continue reading
NBR forms 2 committees to expedite finalisation of new income tax law
The National Board of Revenue has formed two committees to review and finalise the draft of new income tax law within the shortest possible time. Income tax wing of the NBR recently formed the committees — one for Bangla draft and another for English draft — to prepare the law… – Continue reading
NBR nod must for banks to offer double taxation avoidance benefit
National Board of Revenue has asked all banks not to allow double taxation avoidance benefits to any non-resident taxpayers without NBR certificate. International taxation wing of the revenue board has also requested Bangladesh Bank for taking necessary measures so that banks follow the directives. International tax wing of NBR on… – Continue reading
Regent Airways accounts frozen for tax evasion
The airline began commercial flight operations in 2010 and its fleet comprises five aircrafts The National Board of Revenue (NBR) has frozen the bank accounts one of the country’s private airlines, Regent Airways, for avoiding tax around Tk14 crore, confirmed sources at the NBR. According to them, the Customs, Excise… – Continue reading
ACC sets June 30 deadline to complete probes into Panama, Paradise Paper leaks
Anti-Corruption Commission chairman Iqbal Mahmood on Wednesday ordered all ACC officials to complete enquiries by June 30 against individuals or entities whose names have been appeared in Panama Paper and Paradise Paper leaks. He made the order in an urgent meeting with the secretary, all director generals, and directors of… – Continue reading
Legal notice seeking action against Google, YouTube, Facebook for ‘tax evasion’
The lawyers want the global companies to send back 10 years of unpaid taxes to Bangladesh A group of lawyers have sent a legal notice to Google, Facebook, Yahoo and YouTube, as well as several government bodies, seeking action against ‘tax evasion’ by these companies. Supreme Court lawyer Barrister Humayun… – Continue reading
Bangladesh, Morocco sign deal on avoidance of double taxation
In a meeting, both sides agreed to strengthen bilateral cooperation in the areas of economic development, trade and investment, agriculture and tourism cooperation Bangladesh and Morocco have signed an agreement on avoidance of double taxation and a protocol on Foreign Office Consultations. The two instruments were signed by Foreign Minister… – Continue reading
Insurers dodged Tk345 crore tax using five means
‘The companies think that they have not evaded any tax and went for legal help. But they will pay the claimed dues if they lose the legal battle’ Eight insurance companies have allegedly avoided around Tk345 crore in Value Added Tax (VAT) in four years, according to officials at the… – Continue reading
NA passes Bhutan-Bangladesh double tax avoidance agreement
The National Assembly endorsed the double taxation avoidance agreement between Bhutan and Bangladesh yesterday. Signed during the visit of Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to Bhutan in April 2017, the agreement plans to do away with double taxation of incomes between the two countries. In the presence of 38 MPs,… – Continue reading
Bangladesh Cracking Down On Tax-Evading Foreign Workers
Bangladesh’s National Board of Revenue (NBR) is clamping down on foreign workers failing to declare their earnings in the country. Earlier companies were encouraged to report details of foreigners they have on their payroll to the Bangladesh Investment Developments Authority (BIDA), as currently required by law. Foreign individuals should pay… – Continue reading
IRD moves to audit maximum 25,000 income tax files to detect evasion
The Internal Resources Division (IRD) has issued a directive to audit maximum 25,000 income tax files of both individuals and corporate taxpayers to detect tax evasion and concealment of actual income, officials said. The income tax authority has received the directive from the IRD not to exceed this number of… – Continue reading
Withholding tax returns come under crosscheck
Revenue appraisers began crosschecking the withholding tax returns from some companies to determine propriety of the pay disbursed to their foreign and local employees and consultants. In recent times, the submitted accounts on the pay-as-you-earn tax of some multinational companies (MNCs) and domestic firms have been under surveillance of the… – Continue reading
Foreigners’ databank soon to track tax evasion
Foreigners will come under a coordinated databank just after arrival so they could be traced until checkout and tax evasion by any of them prevented, officials said. They said a databank having networking with relevant nodal points would be developed under the National Board of Revenue (NBR). The NBR recently… – Continue reading
‘Scrutiny assessment’ of tax returns to begin soon
The National Board of Revenue (NBR) has issued a guideline asking its income tax offices across the country to start ‘scrutiny assessment’ of the tax returns submitted for the tax year 2015-16. As per the guideline, the taxmen have to complete the scrutiny assessment known as ‘return process’ by December… – Continue reading
Taskforce to hunt tax evading foreigners
The government has decided to form a taskforce involving government and private sector stakeholders to bring the tax-evading unauthorised foreigners under the tax radar. An inter-ministerial meeting has already been held recently to discuss about the formation a high-powered taskforce that will enhance monitoring on the unauthorised foreigners for realising… – Continue reading
Checkposts at airports to stop tax evasion by foreigners
The revenue board is set to set up checkpoints at the immigration of country’s international airports to check tax evasion particularly by growing numbers of foreigners taking up jobs in Bangladesh. Officials said under the plan of the National Board of Revenue (NBR) the checkposts will be set up before… – Continue reading
MoU signed with BD, Bahrain
Bangladesh and Bahrain have signed three instruments in Manama to further strengthen cooperation in various fields between the two countries. The instruments are Agreement on the Reciprocal Protection and Promotion of Investment, Agreement on the Avoidance of Double Taxation and a MoU on Foreign Office Consultations. The first two instruments… – Continue reading
Out of Bangladesh
According to a research report titled “Illegal Financial Flows from Developing Countries: 2004-2013”, recently published by the Washington based research institute Global Financial Integrity (GFI), Bangladesh stands 26th in the list of 149 developing nations, in terms of flight of capital including money laundering (The Daily Star, December 10, 2015)…. – Continue reading
‘Tax rules worsen business climate’
ISLAMABAD: The World Bank says tax regulations in Pakistan are frequently altered, and unpredictable tax rules worsen the business climate and may deter potential investment. The report “Towards a more friendly tax regime: Key challenges in South Asia,” points out that South Asia’s tax regulations are complex and difficult to… – Continue reading
Double taxation avoidance
India and Korea on December 9 agreed to suspend collection of taxes during the pendency of Mutual Agreement Procedure (MAP). This MoU will relieve the burden of double taxation for the taxpayer in both the countries. Two days later, India and Japan signed a protocol for amending the existing convention,… – Continue reading
AB Bank, SIBL tender unconditional apology to BB for irregularities in buyer’s credit
AB Bank Limited and Social Islami Bank Limited (SIBL) have tendered their “unconditional apology” after a Bangladesh Bank (BB) investigation revealed irregularities in buyer’s credit issued to some business houses by their offshore banking units. It was found that some debtors had shirked loan repayment, while yet others had utilised… – Continue reading
Taka continues to weaken against dollar
The taka has continued to decline against the dollar in the past three weeks due to sustained demand for the greenback from banks and importers, according to data from the Bangladesh Foreign Exchange Dealers’ Association. The average BC (bills for collections/import payments) selling rate reached over Tk 80 a dollar… – Continue reading
Transfer pricing and arm’s length principle
The dramatic expansion of international trade and development of new business strategies due to globalisation, converted the world into a large global market. In connection with that, companies have been using complex networks of subsidiaries and branches (e.g. permanent establishments) in order to continue most of their operations. The Multinational… – Continue reading
Taka continues to fall against dollar
The taka has continued to fall against the dollar for two weeks now after nearly one year of an unchanged exchange rate, according to data from the Bangladesh Foreign Exchange Dealers’ Association. “Market forces are determining the exchange rate,” said Kazi Sayedur Rahman, general manager of Bangladesh Bank’s foreign exchange… – Continue reading
Dhaka, Thimphu in talks to sign double taxation avoidance deal
Staff Correspondent The National Board of Revenue on Monday started negotiations with Bhutan to sign an agreement on avoidance of double taxation and prevention of tax evasion and capital flight from the country. A five-member delegation led by NBR chairman Md Nojibur Rahman has been carrying out the first round… – Continue reading
NBR to sign deal with Bhutan to avoid double taxation
Bangladesh is set to sign an agreement with Bhutan to avoid double taxation to boost investments, trade and facilitate information exchange between the two Saarc nations, the National Board of Revenue said in a statement. A team led by NBR Chairman Md Nojibur Rahman is now in Thimpu to take… – Continue reading
Transfer Pricing Cell swings into action
The tax authority has moved to compile a statement of international transaction (SIT) for the first time by collecting details of all of the cross-border financial transactions conducted by the taxpayers across the country. The Income Tax wing under the National Board of Revenue (NBR) has taken the initiative to… – Continue reading
Feature: Tax fair makes it easier for Bangladeshi citizens to pay taxes
DHAKA, Sept. 21 (Xinhua) — For businessman Abdul Mazid paying taxes was always a hassle. As a law-abiding citizen, Mazid was willing to pay his taxes but his problem was that he does not know how to compute his taxes and where to pay. Now all these have been resolved…. – Continue reading
Political courage needed on tackling inequality
Government must make good on its vows, says Jamie Livingstone In less than two weeks, leaders from 193 states will meet at the United Nations in New York to formally adopt, in effect, a new plan to fight extreme poverty, tackle inequality and end hunger. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)… – Continue reading
Government decides to revise convention of double taxation
Pakistan has decided to revise obsolete convention of double taxation and provision of fiscal evasion convention with the United State of America (USA) aimed at bringing the treaty at par with neighbouring countries, well informed sources told Business Recorder. Pakistan and US signed a convention on the avoidance of double… – Continue reading
How feasible is transfer pricing scheme?
The National Board of Revenue (NBR) introduced the ‘Transfer Pricing Scheme’ hurriedly in the financial year 2011-2012. It, however, did not make any provision for infrastructure development to promote the scheme among concerned members of the public. Even it did not make any publicity for assessees, multinational and local companies… – Continue reading
Bangladesh’s central bank asks Finance Institutions to tighten money laundering rules
Bangladesh’s central bank asks Finance Institutions to tighten money laundering rules DHAKA, July 1 (Xinhua)–Bangladesh’s central bank on Wednesday issued a circular asking all financial institutions(FIs) to follow the anti-monetary laundering and terrorist financing rules strictly. “There is no big change in the latest circular, it has just consolidated all… – Continue reading
