Exempt VAT, duty on newspaper materials: NOAB
The Newspaper Owners Association of Bangladesh (NOAB) has sought exemption of value added tax (VAT) and other duties on imported newsprint and other essential materials for printing newspapers. In a meeting with top officials of the National Board of Revenue (NBR) including its Chairman Mohammad Najibur Rahman yesterday, NOAB leaders pointed out that newsprint, the basic ingredient for printing daily newspapers, needs to be imported at high prices. Because of various duties and taxes, the newspaper industry is, as a consequence, passing through a bad phase. At the same time, prices worldwide have been going up, causing a rise in import costs, the NOAB delegation observed, adding that the fluctuating dollar rate has exacerbated the problem. They argued that though imported newsprint costs USD 550 per tonne, after payment of 5 per cent import duty and 15 per cent VAT, the total duty comes to 20.75 per cent per tonne of newsprint, pushing up the costs.
At the same time, power shortages and other rising printing costs have added to the overall costs of printing the newspapers, they said. Apart from the duties and taxes on newsprint, duties and taxes on other materials like ink, which come to 62 per cent, including 25 per cent (VAT, ATV and others), along with 1 per cent duty on plate, total 7.5 per cent (VAT, ATV) and printing chemicals 5 per cent duty, these come to a total of 35 per cent, including VAT and ATV. All these make it difficult to publish newspapers at present, the letter pointed out, and noted that a daily newspaper, as a service industry, is exempted from VAT under the Second Schedule of the VAT Act of 1991; yet, VAT is being realised when paying duties at the import level. Again,
this 15 per cent cannot be adjusted later on.
We pray for exempting the collection of VAT during imposition of duty, NOAB president Matiur Rahman, editor of the daily Prohtom Alo, told the NBR chief while pointing out that many enterprises get VAT exemptions for importing raw materials, such as the waste paper imported by the newsprint producing companies.
As imported newsprint is a chief raw material for the newspaper industry, VAT exemption is required on this raw material, he added.
According to NOAB, the SRO No. 167 of Act 2013/671 VAT dated 06/06/2013 has kept the exemption of VAT at production stage in operation. So we request providing us VAT exemption on the newsprint at the import level alongside its production level.
The newspapers owners also sought amendment to the following issues referring to the NBR memo no TIN/Press/1/1 34/2007/1528 dated 10/12/2007;
A) Consider the provision for opportunity of using the previous years quota to import the newsprint despite passage of a financial year,
B) SRO144/Act No. 27/06/2007 providing for necessary tax exemption on import of newsprint for the newspapers, cancelling the system of joint signatures from the ministry of information and the ministry of commerce on the signature of the ministry of information, as it takes extra time for an allocation letter from the two ministries.
NOAB delegation urged the NBR chairman to stop the collection of 15 per cent duty VAT while imposing it on the imports of newsprint at production level.
We are paying 5 per cent Customs duty on imported newsprints at present, but in neighbouring India, the newspapers do not pay any Customs duty on imported newsprints, making them eligible for exemption of 5 per cent Customs duty here, NOAB president said
The advertisers are deducting 4 per cent advance income tax (AIT) on advertisement bills. It becomes difficult to get the receipts of the AIT later, making us suffer financially if the advertiser fails to deposit the money for the AIT in due time and provide us its receipt, he added.
He also mentioned that it is not easy to collect AIT of government bills.
NOAB also suggested an arrangement for the allocation letter of newsprint to the signature of the information ministry; an arrangement for the rules of using the unused allocation letter for newsprint imports for at least six months at the expiry of the financial year; withdrawal of VAT and taxes on the other essential items of the newspapers like ink, exempting 62 per cent (VAT, ATV), including 25 per cent duty.
It also argued that for plate, as an important material required for newspapers, its 1 per cent duty (total 7.5 per cent [VAT, ATV] and others) should be exempted; and for printing chemicals, being another important raw material for the newspaper industry, its 35 per cent duty, (VAT, ATV and others, including 5 per cent of the duty), should be exempted, to ensure quality printing of newspapers.
