Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal On Saturday said the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in 'an open mind acknowledged' the outstanding achievements of Bangladesh in socio-economic progress. Kamal said this while speaking as the chief guest at the National VAT Day event, held in a hotel in the capital. Chairman of the National Board of Revenue (NBR) Abu Rahmatul Muneem presided over the function. Read more: Finance Minister Mustafa Kamal urges global leaders to ease economic crisis “The success of Bangladesh is not the only achievement of the government. This achievement has been possible with the involvement of the people of this country, so we owe it to the taxpayers,” Kamal said. Jasimuddin, president of FBCCI, complained that a businessman had paid Tk 1.0 crore as VAT last year. This year he will have to pay Tk1.0 crore VAT - the VAT officials put him under such pressure. “If the business is bad this year, why should the businessman pay Tk1.0 crore of VAT?” The FBCCI president urged not to harass those who pay VAT regularly and not to create a situation of panic. Read more: Mustafa Kamal dismisses reports about Bangladesh request for IMF loan NBR members, senior tax officials, and business leaders were also present at the function.

Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal on Wednesday urged world leaders to normalise the global economy for the sake of humanity. The minister said this while addressing virtually at the 7th Board of Governors meeting of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB). Read:Bangladesh has one of the lowest debt-to-GDP ratios: Finance Minister tells ADB Kamal said all the developing countries were already facing huge challenges amid their efforts to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. But another blow of the Russia-Ukraine war has made their struggle more difficult. The theme of the 2022 AIIB Annual Meeting is “Sustainable infrastructure toward a connected world”, which aims to reaffirm infrastructure's crucial role in supporting recovery, growth and connectivity. The annual meeting provides a diverse range of engaging sessions on topics and issues that impact sustainable economic development and the improvement of infrastructure connectivity in Asia and beyond. Read:Market-based foreign exchange rate may be introduced soon: Finance Minister It is the flagship event of the AIIB. It provides an opportunity to report on the bank's work and receive guidance from shareholders on the AIIB's strategic direction and activities. It also gathers and facilitates discussions among senior official delegates from the AIIB Members, as well as partners, business leaders, civil society organisations, and experts from a range of fields. The meeting was also addressed by - Kun Liu, Governor of China; Ken Ofori-Atta, Governor of Ghana, Nirmala Sitharaman, Governor of India; Sardar Ayaz Sadiq, Governor of Pakistan; Indrani Raja, Governor of Singapore; Jamshid Khodzaev, Governor, Uzbekistan; Samad Bashirli, temporary substitute Governor, Azerbaijan; Rudiger von Kleist, temporary substitute Governor, Germany; Nathalie Labuschagne, alternate interim governor of New Zealand and Leonardo Rodriguez Garcia, provisional Alternate Governor of Spain.

The Cabinet Committee on Public Purchase approved a proposal of the Health Service Division to import 30 million doses of Oxford-AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine from the Serum Institute of India Pvt Ltd.

Bangladesh will import 60,000 metric tonnes of diesel from India in the current year 2021 under a government-to-government contract.

The second budget session (8th session) of the 11th parliament began with Speaker Dr Shirin Sharmin Chaudury in the chair on Wednesday afternoon amid the COVID-19 pandemic in the country.

The Tk 556,978 crore budget for 2020-21 fiscal containing the outline of salvaging the economy from the grasp of COVID-19 will be placed on Thursday next.

From now on, contractors will need to submit their updated tax certificates to qualify for contracts to be approved by the Cabinet Committee on Public Purchase.

The Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) on Tuesday welcomed the move by the central bank to set a maximum 9 percent interest rate on all loan products except credit cards.