Govt waives VAT on soybean oil till 30 June
"In case of soybean oil, 15% exemption has been given at production stage and 5% at consumer level," Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal said
The government has decided to waive value-added tax (VAT) on soybean oil till 30 June, Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal said.
"In case of soybean oil, 15% exemption has been given at production stage and 5% at consumer level," the minister said after a meeting of the government's purchase committee on Thursday (10 March).
An official of the National Board of Revenue (NBR) VAT department said that no SRO has been issued yet; it may be next week.
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Presently, 15% VAT is imposed on the import stage, 15% on production stage and 5% on supply stage. VAT may be revoked at the production and supply stage, the official added.
Earlier, the NBR said that is considering withdrawing the VAT on the import of edible oils to restrain soaring prices in the country.
However, no final decision has been made in this regard yet, according to NBR sources.
The Bangladesh Tariff Commission and the Ministry of Commerce have urged the NBR several times to withdraw VAT on edible oil imports.
On Monday (7 March), the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) also urged the government to withdraw VAT for three months.
Currently, there is an imposition of 15% VAT on edible oil at the import level. Moreover, there is another 15% VAT imposed at the retail level, which is adjustable with the import VAT.
However, the total amount of VAT importers need to pay has gone up as prices of imported edible oils increased in the international market, which created a downward pressure from importers to consumers.
As prices continue to soar in the last two months, demand for VAT exemption was reiterated from various quarters.
