& çâÌæÚUæð´ ·¤è ¥ôÚU Îð¹Ùæ ÁæÚUè ÚU¹ð´ ¥ÍæüÌ ¥ÂÙð ÜÿØ ÂÚU ŠØæÙ ÚU¹ð´Ð ãæÚU Ù ×æÙð´, €UØô´ç·¤ ·¤æ× ·¤ÚUÙð âð ¥æÂ·¤ô ©gðàØ ·¤è Âýæç# ãôÌè ãñ ¥õÚU ÁèßÙ ·¤æ ¹æÜèÂÙ ÎêÚU ãôÌæ ãñÐ ÖÜð ãè ÁèßÙ ×ð´ ç·¤ÌÙè Öè ·¤çÆÙæ§ü €UØô´ Ù ¥æ°, çÁ™ææâæ ¥õÚU ©ˆâæã ÕÙæ° ÚU¹ð´Ð ŠØæÙ ÚU¹ð´, ÜÿØ ã×ðàææ ¥æÂ·Ô¤ Âæâ ãôÌð ãñ´ çÁ‹ãð´ ÂæÙð ·Ô¤ çÜ° ÂýØæâ ¥æÂ ·¤Öè Öè àæéM¤ ·¤ÚU â·¤Ìð ãñ´Ð

NBR set to crack whip on foreign firms' tax dodging

Sohel Parvez
The tax authority is set to crack down on tax evasion and controversial fund transfers by foreign companies through transfer pricing from next fiscal year by implementing a rule for it.
Transfer pricing is an accounting method which allows multinational companies to shift net profits or losses to offshore or low-tax countries to maximise their earnings.
For instance, two subsidiaries of a company, one based in a high-tax country and another in a low tax haven, can engage in trade with one another.
The low-tax subsidiary can quote abnormally high prices from the high-tax subsidiary for goods/services to manage the maximum after-tax profits for the parent company, an unethical practice which many multinational firms resort to.
Dubbed the transfer pricing rule, it stipulates that multinationals or foreign companies furnish statements certified by chartered accountants of transactions above Tk 3 crore with their related or associated entities abroad.
The rule, which is included in the Finance Bill 2014, will take effect from July, said a senior official of the National Board of Revenue.
The move comes two years after the rule has been framed in a bid to prevent tax dodging by foreign companies.
It is also a major reason for capital flight, with the country losing $1.6 billion a year from 2002 to 2011, according to Global Financial Integrity, a Washingtonbased firm.
Anecdotal information and global database indicate that a significant amount of fund is being siphoned off through offshore
accounts, second homes' trade mispricing in the form of over-and under-invoicing and other forms of capital flight, said the Centre for Policy Dialogue, a local research organisation.
However, the authorities had been slow to act to rein in the illegal outflow despite India and Sri Lanka slapping the rule years ago.
After introduction of the law in July 2012, the NBR trained more than two dozens of tax officers and formed a TP Cell to prepare for auditing of multinational compa-nies' financial statements and their international transactions.
Finance Minister AMA Muhith, in his budget speech, said the TP Cell will start working on July 1. "The cell will be effective in preventing money laundering and tax evasion," he said.
Officials deputed at the TP Cell will act as transfer pricing officers, said the NBRofficial.
"We hope the introduction ofTP will be beneficial for multinational or foreign companies operating here. Their accounts will be more transparent which will enhance their credibility."
Nearly 200 foreign companies operate in Bangladesh in sectors ranging from fast-moving consumer goods, telecom, energy, beverage, cement, readymade garments to banks.
The NBR official said TP Cell will start auditing some files of multinational companies from next fiscal year.
However, Masud Khan, finance director of Lafarge Surma Cement Ltd, is doubtful about the practicalities of the rules.
"The problem may arise in enforcement of the law by the tax authority especially with regards to assessment and interpretation of the transfer price and that may often result in disputes between the companies and the tax authority."