DHAKA: National Board of Revenue (NBR) has decided to accelerate Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) process for revenue collection.
The NBR made the decision as the BNP-led 20-party alliance has been enforcing indefinite blockade since January 5 with hartal during various periods that caused a huge loss for the businesses across the country.
According to the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI), the loss of the businesses during the recent unrests has so far reached Tk 75,000 crore with the RMG sector at the top with Tk 30,000 crore.
Apart from expediting the ADR, the Board has also decided to engage highly reputed lawyers to fight for the government body in the courts, according to a high official of NBR.
He also said that it is quite natural that the revenue collection will be affected when the business activities of the country have stalled or witnessed a slow down.
In this regard, the NBR official mentioned that the Value Added Tax (VAT) will be the worst affected due to the ongoing destructive politics, followed by duty and income tax.
According to the NBR sources, some 12,538 cases are now pending in the High Court that involved Tk 2,861 crore. Of the total amount, the cases of Chittagong Customs are the highest with 11,164 that involved Tk 1,531 crore.
The cases of Dhaka Bond Commissionrate are 674 (Tk 801 crore), Dhaka Customs (283 cases – Tk 312 crore), Chittagong Customs Bond Commissionarate (674 cases – Tk 198 crore) and Kamalapur ICD (68 cases- Tk 17.31 crore).
The NBR introduced ADR on July 1, 2012 to speed up disposal of the revenue-related cases through out-of-court settlement.
Some 350 cases came under ADR involving tax revenue worth Tk 750 crore. Of the cases, the NBR so far settled 160 cases and realized Tk 150 crore in income taxes for the public exchequer.
The NBR official said that the reputed lawyers would be appointed for the next three years for the pending cases. Initially, three expert lawyers will be appointed to handle the cases apart from the government lawyers.
“The Finance Minister has given his consent for this,” the official said adding that the NBR had earlier appointed such lawyers temporarily back in 2005, but after their tenure expired this system was not followed for various reasons.
