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Tax break likely for energy savers

Sajjadur Rahman
The government is set to expand tax holidays with the inclusion of a new sector in the upcoming budget.
The National Board of Revenue (NBR) has decided to provide a tax holiday to the energysaving bulb makers in a bid to encourage entrepreneurs to invest more in the industry, said a senior NBR official.
The existing industries that enjoy tax holiday or exemption for a specific period will continue to do so in the coming fiscal year as the government will extend the benefit till the end of the next fiscal year.
“Energy-saving bulb makers may be given the benefit considering the sector's growing importance in terms of power saving,” said the official, requesting not to be named.
The facility will be provided in line with the existing laws, he said.
A tax holiday is a temporary reduction or elimination of a tax. The government usually creates tax holidays as incentives for business investment.
In the developing countries, the governments sometimes reduce or eliminate corporate taxes
for the purpose of attracting foreign direct investment or stimulating growth in selected industries.
The tax holiday facility has been in Bangladesh soon after the independence of the country, according to NBR officials. It is available for five to seven years depending on location of the certain industrial enterprise.
Dhaka and Chittagong divisions (excluding three hill tract districts) enjoy five years of tax holiday. Khulna, Sylhet, Barisal and Rajshahi divisions and three hill tract districts have seven years of holiday.
For the first two years, the industries get 100 percent tax exemption facility, for the second and third years it comes down to 50 percent and in the last year it stands at 25 percent.
Till 2005 all the industries had enjoyed the tax holiday benefit, as there was no categorisation. The NBR in 2005 categorised the sectors to be provided with the facility.
The industries that enjoy the facility are textile, textile machinery, jute goods, high value garments (overcoats, jackets and suits), pharmaceuticals, melamine, plastic products, ceramics, sanitaryware, steel from iron ore, mild steel rod, corrugated iron sheet, fertiliser, insec-
ticide, pesticide, computer hardware, compressors, basic rawmaterials of drugs and chemicals.
Agro-processing, shipbuilding and diamond cutting also enjoy the benefit.
Of the physical infrastructure industries, sea or river port, container terminal, internal container depot, container freight station, liquefied natural gas terminal and transmission line, compressed natural gas terminal and transmission line, gas pipeline, flyover, mono rail, underground rail, telecommunication other than mobile phone, large water treatment plant and export processing zones are entitled to the facility.
In the tourism industry, residential hotels having facility of three stars or more enjoy the benefit.
Aminur Rahman, member (policy) of NBR, said tax holiday is helping industrialisation.
“Energy and infrastructure are the two key factors for facilitating industrialisation,” Rahman said.
Replying to a question, he said the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry did not request the NBR this year to include any new emerging industrial sector in the tax holiday list.
sajjad@thedailystar.net