A new online value added tax (VAT) system will be introduced with the National Board of Revenue (NBR) from mid of next year (2015) to facilitate the online payment of the duties.
According to official sources, the NBR has already selected a firm to procure a specialized web-based “Commercial-off-the Shelf (COTS)” software to set up the Integrated VAT Administration System (IVAS) to facilitate the new duty payment system.Officials said the BULL SAS–a France-based company was selected by the NBR through an open tender for the project.
The French company has offered to execute the job at a cost of about Tk 86.14 crore. Of the amount, it quoted about Tk 12.47 crore as local currency and $ 9.916 million as foreign currency as cost of the project.
The BULL SAS was selected as the lowest among the three qualified and responsive bidders.
The NBR has also put forward the French company’s tender proposal to the Cabinet Division to place it in the Cabinet Purchase Committee meeting scheduled for Thursday for approval. Once the tender proposal is approved, the BULL SAS will start its work.
Officials said the government has already passed a bill in parliament in 2012 as part of the reforms in the VAT collection system under which the “VAT Online” project was undertaken by the NBR.
About the project, NBR in an executive summery mentioned that the government has set a timeframe to give an effect to the new VAT law from 1st July 2015. The main objective of the new law is to introduce an automation system in the VAT collection.
At present, all the VAT related activities, except VAT registration, are conducted manually. After introduction of the new system based on COST software, all the activities of VAT will come under automation system.
As per the NBR plan, all kinds of VAT collection through online will start from July 1, 2015 and the new VAT law will be fully effective by December of that year.
The Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) earlier approved Tk 551.58 crore project in this regard in which the World Bank will finance about Tk 449.74 crore and rest of the fund will come from the government financing. – UNB
