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VAT on e-commerce opposed

Star Business Report
The e-Commerce Association of Bangladesh (e-CAB) opposed the proposed 4 percent VAT on online trading as they believe the decision makers are unaware of the prospects of the thriving sector.
The association has demanded the same tax benefits for online trading as the ICT industry that will enjoy VAT exemption until 2024.
It was mentioned in the budget documents that the government imposed VAT on e-trading, but it was not clear whether the VAT will apply to the sales of used products in online marketplaces, according to e-CAB.
"We will organise awareness programmes involving the commerce ministry and the National Board of Revenue," said Razib Ahmed, president of e-CAB.
Annual e-commerce sales in Bangladesh are only Tk 200 crore, so it will be a huge burden for the sector that is just trying to spread its wings, he said.
The association has already launched an online protest against the proposed VAT. The proposal is unexpected from a government that has a goal to build a Digital Bangladesh, he added. Buyers will be discouraged from trying out online shopping if they are charged an additional 1.5 percent at the shopping malls and 4 percent for online shopping, Ahmed said.
Ahmed is, however, hopeful that the sector will generate thousands of jobs in the next couple of years, if the government does not create any new obstacles.
Over 500 websites along with around 2,000 Facebook pages are now delivering online shopping services, said industry insiders. Shameem Ahsan, president of Bangladesh Association of Software and Information Services, said each firm in the industry pays Tk 7,000 to Tk 10,000 as VAT on average a month.
Ahsan, also a newly elected director of the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry and a co-founder of e-commerce venture Akhoni.com, said if the proposed VAT is implemented, none of the e-commerce initiatives will sustain as the amount of VAT payment will be doubled or tripled.
In Pakistan, e-commerce is growing at 30 percent a year while it is 28 percent in India; but in Bangladesh, the rate is less than 10 percent, Anower Hossain, an e-CAB leader.
In Bangladesh, e-commerce is not popular due to a lack of internet facilities, and the industry that is still premature will not flourish if such a high tax is imposed, Hossain said on Facebook. Mustafa Jabbar, former president of Bangladesh Computer Samity, agreed.
The young entrepreneurs need some incentives to prepare people fit for using digital services, but they are now being punished, he said. “The decision to impose VAT on online shopping will give people a wrong impression about Digital Bangladesh." A tax holiday for 5-10 years fore-commerce is a fair demand, Jabbar added.