Bangladesh to continue Indian LoC projects: Salehuddin

Finance and Commerce Adviser Dr Salehuddin Ahmed yesterday said the Indian Line of Credit (LoC) projects will continue because they are important for Bangladesh.

He said that significant steps have been taken to enhance tax collection and assured that the government will not obstruct proposals related to power and energy.

“The projects they [India] have with us are big ones, and we will continue those. We will take on another big project for our benefit,” he told reporters after Indian High Commissioner to Bangladesh Pranay Verma met him at the Secretariat yesterday.

“We’ve assured him [Verma] that Bangladesh is a very good place for investment and economic cooperation. They have taken note and they will continue the cooperation,” he added.

Salehuddin also thanked the Indian government for its continued cooperation, adding, “We look forward to enhanced future cooperation.”

Mentioning that India is right next door and a big neighbour of Bangladesh, Dr Salehuddin, also in charge of the Ministry of Science and Technology, said both India and Bangladesh have many areas of economic cooperation and trade.

“We won’t stop with what we have; we will discuss those projects, including their funding and implementation,” he added.

Regarding the bilateral trade volume, the finance adviser said there is a bilateral trade deficit that tilts in favour of India. But the issue will be resolved.

Indian High Commissioner to Bangladesh Pranay Verma also said India has not stopped any of its Line of Credit projects to Bangladesh since those are big projects.

“Those projects are going on, and they are huge projects located at different sites. The contractors will be coming back to start the projects,” he added.

Pranay said, “We are very closely engaging with the government, and my meeting with the adviser is proof of that.”

He said the issue of project implementation would be resolved through mutual cooperation, and the Indian side’s approach is positive in this regard.

The Indian envoy said that he briefed the adviser about the progress made on some India-funded projects, adding that the approach was to move forward.

He said that the Indian side is very happy to take forward its LoC projects under its development cooperation as Bangladesh had already identified those as beneficial for them.

Bangladesh and India signed the first Line of Credit agreement involving $862 million in August 2010.

The second Line of Credit agreement involving $2 billion was signed in March 2016. The third agreement involving $4.5 billion under the system was signed in March 2017.

Meanwhile, an Advisers Council Committee meeting on Government Purchase was held at the Finance Division Conference Room in the Bangladesh Secretariat yesterday.

Following the meeting, the finance adviser told reporters that the government does not want to obstruct proposals related to power and energy, alongside proposals for procuring LNG, fertiliser and pesticides, as those are important affairs.

These proposals are now being cleared quickly by the Economic Affairs Committee and Purchase Committee regardless of any constraints, he said.

The committee approved separate proposals for procuring some 25,000 tonnes of rock phosphate and 40,000 tonnes of Muriate of Potash fertiliser to meet growing demand in the country.

NBR reform to boost tax collection

At a press conference held yesterday at the NBR headquarters in Dhaka, Dr Salehuddin announced significant reforms to enhance tax collection by the National Board of Revenue.

“We have initiated several actions for tax reform and will seek assistance from international experts. We expect these measures to yield positive results,” he said.

When questioned about potential reforms concerning duty-free vehicle purchases for parliament members and the income tax status of High Court judges, he confirmed that these issues were under consideration.

The press conference also unveiled that, starting Monday, individual taxpayers can submit their returns online for the 2024-2025 tax year. The updated e-return system allows taxpayers to prepare and submit their returns online or print them for offline submission.

Payments can be made through online banking, credit or debit cards, or mobile financial services. The system also offers immediate proof of submission, income tax payment certificates, and previous e-return copies, which can be printed or downloaded.

NBR Chairman Md Abdur Rahman Khan, at the press conference, acknowledged that Bangladesh’s online return system is not yet comparable to those in other countries, but noted that progress is being made.

He cited Australia’s advanced online tax filing system, which automates tax filings through digital transaction records, as a model. “We aim to achieve similar integration,” he said.

Dr Salehuddin Ahmed said taxes should not be forcibly collected from those who lack the capacity to pay. 

“If two individuals are required to pay Tk50,000 each in taxes, it is unacceptable for one to pay the full amount while the other pays only Tk5,000 and illegally uses Tk20,000, depriving the government of the remaining amount [Tk25,000],” he added.