The first consignment of Covid-19 vaccine arrives at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka in a special flight from India. COURTESY
The government is set to exempt the advance income tax on import of any type of human vaccine to make them affordable for the country’s citizens and facilitate the overall immunisation process, particularly the COVID-19 vaccination.
The income tax wing of the National Board of Revenue (NBR) on Thursday published the draft of the statutory regulatory order proposing an amendment to the Income Tax Rules-1984 in this connection. They proposed the waiver from payment of 5.0 per cent AIT.
Stakeholders are requested to give their opinions on the proposed amendment within 15 days of publication of the draft SRO, it said.
The revenue board will accommodate suggestions or objections, if any, from the stakeholders, it said, adding that otherwise, the pre-publication of the SRO will be considered as final.
Officials of the revenue board said that traditionally, they did not get any objection to such amendment proposals placed in public interest. The Directorate General of Health Services had requested the NBR to mainly withdraw the AIT on the import of coronavirus vaccine. But the revenue board offered the waiver on all types of human vaccines considering their importance in prevention of various diseases.
The decision will also not affect the local pharmaceutical sector as the country hardly manufactures human vaccines, they said. There are no other duties and taxes on the import of the products. NBR second secretary, income tax policy, Mohidul Islam Chowdhury said that the AIT exemption would help make vaccines affordable. It will also play a role in boosting the overall immunity of the citizens amid the coronavirus outbreak, he said.
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