Business Desk :
The Dhaka Chamber of Commerce & Industry (DCCI) has proposed to fix a uniform single-digit VAT rate across the board and nominal 1% VAT for the traders of informal sectors in the next budget for fiscal year 2025-2026 (FY26).
The DCCI said such a rate would bring transparency in the overall revenue management, reduce cost of doing business and have a positive impact on the manufacturing sector.
At present, the DCCI said the standard VAT rate is 15% across the board, but it has been segregated to different slabs like 10%, 7.5% and 5% in different sectors that actually caused difficulties for traders as well as disputes in many cases. Besides, many traders are bearing the burden of additional tax due to non-availability of input tax rebate benefit, it added, reports BSS.
These proposals were submitted by Taskeen Ahmed, President of DCCI, while placing the Chamber’s budget (FY2025-26) proposals to the NBR Chairman Md Abdur Rahman Khan in a pre-budget meeting at the NBR Building today, said a DCCI press release.
This year, a total of 42 budget proposals were placed by Taskeen Ahmed focusing on widening tax net and setting a target of revenue collection, reducing tax rates, introducing business-friendly tax policies and automation of revenue system, reforming VAT management, protecting local industries and manufacturing sectors, simplifying import duty, tariff system and tax structure for the individuals.
DCCI President Taskeen Ahmed congratulated the NBR for taking the initiative to bring all taxpayers under the online income tax return process from the next fiscal.
He also mentioned that according to NBR data, there are more than 10.13 million TIN holders in the country, but from July 1, 2024 to February 6, 2025, only more than 37 lakh returns were submitted.
