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Investors of luxury hotels get duty cuts

Star Business Report
The revenue authorities have reduced import duties on capita) machinery and other equipment needed to set up luxury hotels, in a bid to boost the local tourism industry.
The National Board of Revenue will charge 5 percent duty on the import of certain capital goods and accessories to facilitate establishment of chain and standard hotels in Bangladesh, it said in a notice on Tuesday.
The items include interior decor materials, kitchen and cooking equipment, building security equipment, fire fighting and protection equipment, electric substations, furniture, lighting, and health club equipment.
The NBR said hotel chain franchises and hotels certified as 'standard' by the tourism ministry will get the privilege of importing goods at a concessional rate and enjoy waivers for VAT, supplementary and regulatory duty.
However, the NBR attached conditions for hotel investors who will have to submit VAT registration as residential hotels, copies of registration with Board of Investment, copies of agreements with global hotel chains and hotel lay-out plans approved by competent authorities.
To define standard hotels, a panel of experts and stakeholders will be formed by the tourism ministry, the NBR said in the notice.
Based on the benchmark, the tourism ministry will prepare a letter of recommendation, it added.
"Every application will require approval from the NBR, * said the notification issued by its Chairman Md Ghulam Hussain.
Applicants will also be required to give details of the amount of equipment and their related uses in the applications to receive the duty benefits.
The NBR said the benefit will be provided before commercial launch of the related hotel.
In October last year, the NBR took the decision to offer reduced duties for import of capital machinery and equipment based on applications by investors to set up luxury hotels in Dhaka, Cox's Bazar and Sylhet.
Some of the applicants included investors of Sea Pearl Beach Resort and Spa Ltd in Cox's Bazar, Radisson Bay View Hotel in Chittagong, Hotel La Rose in Sylhet, Unique Hotel and Resorts Ltd (Unique-2), Premier Hotel Management Co Ltd and Hilton in Dhaka.
The NBR later formed a panel to place a report by examining the present duties on importable or imported capita] goods to set up hotels.
Revenue officials expect the benefit to attract more investment in setting up standard hotels at popular destinations, which will help attract more foreign tourists.
The travel and tourism sector in Bangladesh accounts for 2.1 percent of its GDP, according to a report by World Travel and Tourism Council.