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Remittance inflow down by $ 3.25 billion in 8 months of FY 22
Bangladesh’s remittance inflow decreased by USD $ 284.5 million to $ 1496.09 million in February of the current fiscal year compared with the same month of last fiscal year.
In February of FY2020-21, the expatriates sent remittance of $ 1780.59 million to the country.
Bangladesh received $ 13.44 billion remittance in the first 8 months of the current FY2021-22 which is counted from 1st of July every year. In the same period of last FY2020-21, the expatriates sent $16.68 billion. It means flow of inward remittance has decreased by $3.25 billion.
Read: Remittance Magic: Bangladesh received $11.95bn in 7 months
Bangladesh Bank (BB) data released on Tuesday found that the expatriates in different countries of the world sent $1496.09 million inward remittance through banking channels.
The previous month, in January, expatriates sent inward remittances of $ 1704.53 million, in December $1630.66 million.
The government has been providing a 2 per cent incentive from the FY2019-20 to increase remittance inflow in the formal channel (banking) discouraging hundi.
Read:Central bank devalues taka to boost exports, remittances
After easing global Covid restriction on movement, the inward remittance flow decreased gradually compared with the severe pandemic period. In the last FY2021-22 Bangladesh received a record $ 24.77 billion remittance, which is the highest ever.
In January 2022, the government increased remittance incentive to 2.5 per cent to increase the inward remittance flow in the banking channel.
It means the expatriates are now getting hassle-free Tk 102.5 for sending Tk 100 remittance through banking channels.
Read Govt raises incentive on remittance to 2.5%
The sector insiders said that Bangladesh's remittance inflow would increase in the remaining period of the current fiscal year as the government increased incentive rate and upward trend of fuel oil prices in the global market.
Stock market witness a massive fall on Sunday after Russia attacks Ukraine
Dhaka stocks exchange (DSE) witnessed a massive price fall on Sunday amid a rush of selling pressure due to global tension rising after the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
The benchmark index of the DSE fell 163 points, or 2.38 per cent, to 6,676 at the end of the exchange on Sunday, the lowest in the last 2 months.
Analysis of the daily exchange situation shows that at the beginning of the week, 365 companies or 96 per cent stock fell. The investors’ participation in the stock saw a dried up position with the day’s turnover stood at Tk 916.28 crore.
Also read: Whitening black money: Stock exchanges ask NBR to continue it in stock market
The Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) also witnessed a fall or eroded on Sunday. A total of 304 companies’ shares traded on the day of which 284 dropped prices, only 9 gained and 11 remained unchanged. The CSE lost 490 point (2.45 per cent) to 19500.
The country's capital market passed the 3rd week in February on a one-day rise and a three-day downward trend. During this week's trading, the index and the share price of most companies was downward.
As a result, the capital of the country's main capital market DSE investors lost their capital in the 3rd week, the same situation was seen in the transactions of Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE).
According to the DSE data, during the week (February 20-24), the transaction on the DSE was Tk398.79. The previous week's transaction was Tk5 98.12 crore. In other words, the transaction decreased by Tk1989.23 crore during the week, which means stock price decreased by 33.17 per cent.
Also read: Stock markets continue to fall on the third day Tuesday
Of the 392 stocks and units traded on the DSE in the fourth week of February, 73 rose, 296 declined and 16 remained unchanged. Shares of five companies were not traded.
Ministry of Industries achieves record 63% implementation of ADP
With 63 per cent of execution record, the Ministry of Industries has surpassed the national rate in implementing the Annual Development Program (ADP).
From July to January of the fiscal year 2022-23, the ministry was able to implement 63 per cent of the ADP, where the overall ADP implementation rate is less than 30 per cent.
Read:NBR goes all-out to boost tax revenue for better economic growth
The information was presented at a meeting held to review the implementation progress of projects included in the ADP, at the conference hall of the industries ministry on Sunday.
Industries Minister Nurul Majid Mahmud Humayun was the chief guest and State Minister for Industries Kamal Ahmed Majumder was the special guest at the review meeting chaired by Industries Secretary Zakia Sultana.
Relevant officials of the ministry, heads of various agencies and corporations under the ministry and various project managers were also present on the occasion.
The ministry officials said that a total of 33 projects are being implemented in the current fiscal year. For all the projects the budgetary allocation was Tk4066 crore, of which Tk 2565 crore or 63 per cent allocation was spent in the first 7 months of the current fiscal year.
Read: BSCIC holds beekeeping development workshop
The meeting was informed that there are a total of 33 projects in the annual development program of the Ministry. Of these, 30 investment projects, 2 technical assistance projects and 1 self-financing are implemented in the current fiscal year.
The allocation for these projects was Tk 4,066 crore. Of this, Tk 1,203 crore has been allocated in the public sector, Tk 2,817 crore in the project assistance sector and Tk 46 crore in the company's own finance sector.
NBR goes all-out to boost tax revenue for better economic growth
The National Board of Revenue (NBR) has intensified its tax survey, inspection, monitoring and realisation to boost the Tax GDP ratio, currently the lowest in the South Asian region.
The poor situation exists although NBR has recently witnessed a 9.51 per cent growth in individual income tax return submission.“The Board has already directed all the field offices to intensify and strengthen their respective tax survey to have a justified growth with other wings,” a senior official of the NBR told UNB wishing anonymity.He said that the Board has also directed the field offices to give extra efforts for collecting advance income tax, which is a good source of collection.
Also read: Whitening black money: Stock exchanges ask NBR to continue it in stock marketThe revenue target for the NBR for FY2021-22 has been fixed at 10.7 per cent, higher than the revised target of the FY2020-21. The revenue collection was set at Tk 330,078 crore during FY2021-22.In the last FY2020-21 the revised revenue target was Tk 301,000 crore while it was set Tk 330,000 in the main budget.Of the total target the VAT wing will contribute the lion share with Tk 127,745 crore which is 11 per cent higher than the revised target of the last fiscal. In the last fiscal the target was Tk 125, 163 crore.The target for Income Tax and Tax on Profit has been set Tk 104, 952 crore where it was Tk 103, 945 crore in the last fiscal.
Also read: Even government entities press NBR for tax exemption: NBR ChairmanThe revenue collection from import duty will be Tk 37, 907 crore, Tk 54,465 crore from from Supplementary Duty, Tk 56 crore from export duty, Tk 3825 crore from Excise Duty while Tk 1050 crore from other taxes and duties.As part of intensifying the tax survey information of the flat and house owners in posh areas like Gulshan, Banani, Uttara, Dhanmondi of the capital city will be gathered.The eligible but not enlisted persons will be given electronic tax identification number (e-TIN) instantly. “Proper directives have been given to the field level officials,” the NBR official said.Punitive measures will be taken against the e-TIN holders who fail to submit their income tax return or apply for time extension.The NBR teams will visit houses, shops and other commercial establishments in the city’s various areas to find out the potential taxpayers. The officials will take support from service agencies to scrutinise information related to income, wealth and property of the potentially eligible taxpayers.The survey teams are collecting information related to national identity card, trade licence and other business documents from people having income from house or business properties and from service or other professions.NBR has directed the tax commissioners to bring all eligible persons and organisation under the tax net and take initiative to remove the phobia regarding tax payment, sources said.It also asked to intensify the tax survey and activate the inactive TIN numbers as submitting income tax return has been made mandatory for every TIN holder from this fiscal.The Income Tax Wing of the NBR has already given necessary directives to the field offices in this regard.As a part of the internal survey, the field level officials have already collected possible taxpayers information from city corporations, Rajuk and sub-registrar offices. This is popularly called ‘secondary data’.
Secondary data refers to the information of the individuals that are already kept with an organisation.The NBR also has started to collect information of the potential taxpayers at the upazila level through secondary data gathering, otherwise known as internal survey.According to data from the April 2021 issue of the World Economic Outlook, the tax to GDP ratio of the country has been 9.9 per cent on an average since 2016-2020, while it is 19.67 per cent for India, 21.50 per cent for Nepal, 14.88 for Pakistan, 12.74 per cent for Sri Lanka.The ratio is 24.72 per cent for developing countries and 35.81 per cent for developed countries, according to the data.The tax-to-GDP ratio is a ratio of a nation's tax revenue relative to its gross domestic product, the value of goods and services produced in a country during a certain period. The ratio is also a marker of how well the government controls a country's economic resources.According to an official document, the tax to GDP ratio in the current fiscal has been estimated at 10.7 per cent.
BSCIC holds beekeeping development workshop
The Bangladesh Small and Cottage Industry Corporation (BSCIC) is implementing a project of adopting beekeeping activities through training micro entrepreneurs.
As part of the program the BSCIC organized a skill developing workshop for beekeeping in Khulna region on Saturday.
The proposed project titled 'Development of beekeeping through application of modern technology' is a green leaf of FY 2021-22. BSIC has taken up this project under the Ministry of Industries to implement the government's My Village, My City program.
Nepal Chandra Karmakar, Director (Planning & Research) BSIC, was present at the beekeeping workshop as the Chief Guest.
Md. Hafizur Rahman, Deputy Director, Department of Agricultural Extension, Khulna, Mohammad Rashedur Rahman, Deputy General Manager (Planning) BSIC and Tushar Kanti Roy, Lecturer, Khulna Agricultural University, were present as the special guests.
Hafizur Rahman presented in the workshop overall BSCIC activities, master plan, BSCIC contribution in development of honey industry, existing status and problems of bee industry, activities identified under the proposed project.
In the workshop, the entrepreneurs involved in the honey industry highlighted the problems of the industry and suggested to include important aspects of the project.
A total of 20 honey industry entrepreneurs were present at the workshop.
National Geographic's 'Super Factories' showcases Walton factory
Walton has become the first Bangladeshi company to be featured in the National Geographic Channel's documentary series "Super Factories."
The episode featuring the Walton factory in Gazipur was aired at 8:30pm (Bangladesh time) Saturday, giving viewers an insight into the company's manufacturing process and success story.
The subscribers of Bangladesh Cable Operator (dish connection) and DTH users were able to watch the 44-minute documentary on National Geographic.
Read: Walton gets best electronics stall award in DITF-22
Super Factories unveiled the story of the successful application of modern engineering, functioning and innovation that goes behind the scenes of the making of Walton products.
The programme also showcased Walton's aspirations to contribute to the transformation of Bangladesh from an agricultural country to a manufacturing hub of electronics and technology products, branding "Made in Bangladesh."
National Geographic India said: "We endeavour to bring thought-provoking stories across the globe, through insightful narrative. Our popular Super Factories series was created to give viewers a deeper understanding of high-tech factories and expand their knowledge."
Read: Walton to bring new Printon printers
"With this latest edition, we aim to showcase the compelling journey of Walton Group, highlighting their innovative approach to adapt to the evolving technology and the needs of consumers that have helped them to make significant strides within the consumer electronics industry."
Walton's Chief Marketing Officer Mohammad Firoj Alam said: "Walton is representing Bangladesh in the global arena in the fields of engineering and technological advancement. In this documentary, we wanted to share our success story with the audience at home and abroad."
The programme will be rebroadcast at 10.30am (Bangladesh time) on March 6, 13, and 27, April 2 and 3 and 8.30pm (Bangladesh time) on March 12 and 19.
Read Walton Primo NX6 Review with Price in Bangladesh
Abolish supplementary duty on locally-produced goods: FBCCI president
FBCCI President Md. Jashim Uddin on Saturday advocated abolishing the supplementary duty on locally produced goods for the sake of promoting domestic industry.
He made the remark at the first meeting of the FBCCI's standing committee on Budget, Import Duty, Income Tax, VAT and other taxes held at the FBCCI office.
During the meeting, Md. Jashim Uddin said that after the LDC graduation, the government cannot protect the domestic industry as it is now. Therefore, initiatives should be taken to strengthen the local industry through tax and duty exemption till 2026.
The FBCCI president urged the government not to impose any supplementary duty on domestically produced products in the next fiscal budget.
Also read: FBCCI to establish UAE -Bangladesh Joint Council in Dubai
At the same time, the President said, there has been a positive growth in exports despite the Covid situation.
However, he said that the export earnings have increased mainly due to increase in prices of raw materials in the world market and the profits of the traders did not increase.
He urged not to impose any new tax in the next budget.
The FBCCI chief demanded an assessment of whether the various automation projects undertaken by the government in revenue management are being implemented properly.
Md. Farid Uddin, panel advisor of FBCCI and a former member of the NBR, said that due to various amendments in 2019, the VAT Act-2012 has now become the Sales Tax Act.
He recommended a fundamental reform of the law. He urged the Board of Revenue to remain accountable to the business community so that businessmen are not harassed by the tax officials.
Also read: FBCCI President urges expatriate Bangladeshi businessmen to invest in economic zones
At the meeting, BTMA President Mohammad Ali Khokon demanded repeal of tariffs on man-made fiber in the forthcoming budget, a single rate of duty on imports of spare parts, and retention of 15 per cent corporate tax on textiles till 2030.
Committee member and FICCI advisor Snehashish Barua suggested rationalizing the advance tax rate and formulating a single rate of VAT in the next budget.
Representatives of various associations and chambers also complained about irregularities and harassment of VAT officials. They also demanded that the VAT collection process be brought under full automation.
FBCCI Senior Vice President Mostofa Azad Chowdhury Babu, Vice President Salahuddin Alamgir, Md. Habib Ullah Dawn, MA Razzak Khan Raj, Director Harun Or Rashid, Amjad Hussain, Md. Naser, Dr. Nadia Binte Amin, Syed Sadat Almas Kabir, Abul Kasem Khan and FBCCI Secretary General Mohammad Mahfuzul Hoque were present.
BB relaxes ICRRS to facilitate businesses’ loan
Bangladesh Bank (BB) has relaxed again banks’ Internal Credit Risk Rating System (ICRRS) considering the impact of the pandemic on the economic activities.
As a result, the businesses will be benefited as banks can provide loans following relaxing ICRRS, the central bank officials said.
The marginal ICRRS score fell to 50 percent from 55 percent.
Read: BB asks NBFIs comply with Banker's Book Evidence Act-2021 to avoid imprisonment
The Banking Regulations and policy department (BRPD) of BB issued a circular on Wednesday relaxing the ICRRS adding that financial statements of different sectors including the industry, trading, and service sector of the year were not as stable as before.
Institutions face difficulties in re-borrowing or renewing previous loans as the picture is relatively marginal, the BB circular stated.
In this context, the BB relaxed the ICRRS to accelerate business activities across the country.
Read: Economy resilient, no liquidity shortages in banks: BB governor
The BRPD directive states that the businesses can avail of the required loan facility from the bank considering the financial condition and/or to continue the renewal of the existing loan.
IsDB to provide $56 million to improve sanitation, hygiene in Bangladesh
Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) will provide USD $ 56 million to improve sanitation and hygiene services for 14 lakh (1.4 million) people of 10 priority towns in Bangladesh.
A loan deal in this regard was signed between Econmic Relation Division (ERD) and IsDB) here on Sunday.
Under the loan agreement, IsDB will provide $ 56 million, out of which $ 36.4 million is loan and S$ 19.6 million is grant.
Read: TCB to provide food support to 1 crore families during Ramadan: Tipu
Fatima Yasmin, secretary of Economic Relations Division, ministry of finance has signed the agreement documents with IsDB.
The purpose of the loan is to improve quality of lives and livelihoods for 1.4 million citizens of ten selected priority towns including Narsingdi, Shariatpur, Cumilla, Lakshmipur, Jamalpur, Notore, Pabna, Sirajgani, Bagerhat and Patuakhali.
The project implementation will ensure safer, adequate, equitable, sustainable sanitation, hygiene, facilities and services with a special focus on the urban poor women and children in 10 towns of Bangladesh.
The $36.4 million loan shall bear an interest rate approximately 3.20%. The total financing shall have a maturity of 20 years including a grace period of 5 years.
IsDB is one of the leading and trusted development partners of Bangladesh.
Read: OPEC provides $ 75 million to Bangladesh for pandemic recovery
The purpose of the bank is to foster the economic development and social progress of member countries and Muslim communities individually as well as jointly in accordance with the principles of Islamic Shari’ah.
Bangladesh is one of the founding members of the IsDB. The development partner has been providing financial assistance since its inception in the form of grant, project loan, trade financing, private sector financing, export credit guarantee etc.
As of now IsDB has approved approximately 22.51 billion US$. IsDB’s project financing in the public sector of Bangladesh mainly focuses on sanitation, water sector, education, power, rural infrastructure, poverty alleviation and agriculture.
BD Hot Deals offers up to Tk10,000 cashback on Nagad payment
E-commerce platform BD Hot Deals has entered the market with a special cashback offer for making payments through mobile financial services provider Nagad.
Customers can get a cashback of up to Tk10,000 upon placing a pre-order through Nagad from home and abroad.
The official inauguration of BD Hot Deals was announced in Banani, Dhaka through an event Thursday.
Read: Nagad offers up to 50% discount, cashback throughout February
Md Nojmul Sayadat, chairman of BD Hot Deals, and Shihab Uddin Chowdhury, chief sales officer of Nagad, signed an agreement at the event.
With a 20 percent advance payment, any product from the US or the UK will be delivered to customers in 25 days through BD Hot Deals. It will be subjected to the digital platform guidelines of the government.
However, the remaining 80 percent payment must be made at the time of product delivery.
Read Payoneer to Bkash Fund Transfer: A Great Advancement of Freelancing in Bangladesh
Customers will be eligible to obtain a 10 percent cashback, up to Tk10,000, if the entire payment is made through Nagad.