Sohel Parvez

Bangladesh’s wheat consumption is forecast to rise 6 per cent to 84 lakh tonnes in the marketing year (MY) beginning from July as demand of households, restaurants and the bakery industry has increased, said the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) in a recent report.

Farmers are expanding cultivation of hybrid rice to reap benefits of higher yield than inbred varieties and profit from sale of the staple food.

The construction of the container freight station (CFS) has already commenced and is expected to be completed in a phased manner by the end of 2022.

Olympic Industries, a leading biscuit maker, said its earnings slumped to the lowest in six-year suffering an increase in the cost of raw materials.

Maize is being traded for as much as Tk 30 per kilogramme (kg), the highest on record in Bangladesh, influenced by high international prices, a development that has created interest among many growers to expand cultivation of the grain, a key ingredient for poultry, cattle and fish feed.

Bangladesh’s soybean imports will likely grow 33 per cent in marketing year (MY) 2021-22, beginning in October and ending in September, thanks to the increased oilseed crushing capacity of local mills.

The National Board of Revenue (NBR) has seen a massive surge in registrations for Taxpayer Identification Numbers (TIN) by companies, mainly due to its increased monitoring and efforts to bring all registered firms under the tax net.

The National Board of Revenue (NBR) is examining the scope for giving tax  rebate on the income of individuals who are investing in the shariah-based sukuk bond, said a senior official of the tax authority yesterday.

The central bank should depreciate the taka against the US dollar gradually, if necessary, in order to avoid hurting the economic recovery and stocking inflationary pressures as Bangladesh is an import-dependent country, said Mostafa Kamal, chairman and managing director of Meghna Group of Industries.

Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC) is going to import 90,000 tonnes of diesel from India this calendar year and it looks to bring a portion of the petroleum through a 131-kilometre Bangladesh-India Friendship Pipeline (BIFP), which is likely to become operational in 2022, officials said yesterday.

It has been a decade Akij Ceramics Ltd, a concern of Akij Group, has been operating in the ceramic industry in Bangladesh.

Only 37 per cent of 62.77 lakh registered taxpayers filed income tax returns until January 2, the last day for filing income and wealth statements by individuals, according to the National Board of Revenue (NBR).

With many export-oriented firms facing losses for cancellation of export orders by buyers or other factors and sit with stock of raw materials, the National Board of Revenue (NBR) has relaxed rules regarding holding period of raw materials imported duty-free by firms under bonded warehouse licence.

Flour prices in Bangladesh have continued to rise, driven by increasing prices of wheat in the global market and falling imports, said industry operators yesterday.

A lot has changed in recent years amid growing consciousness among consumers and understanding among businesses that profit maximisation can’t be the only objective of any business.

Bangladesh has roughly 60 lakh registered taxpayers. And if you are registered with a taxpayer identification number (TIN), it is high time for you to prepare and file your returns of incomes, no matter whether you have taxable income or not.

A field office of the National Board of Revenue has brought a VAT evasion allegation against Singer Bangladesh Ltd and claimed nearly Tk 94 crore as indirect tax from the electronics and home appliance seller.

No one knows how the poor man dines, says a Russian proverb that now seems all too fitting in light of the government’s decision to hike the prices of diesel, kerosene and liquefied petroleum gas. 

The surge in sales of state-backed savings instruments has become a major source of income for the revenue collector in recent years as it charges up to 10 per cent tax on the profits made mainly by pensioners and middle-class families.

Akij Jute Mills Ltd has poured the whole $20 million, which the Bangladesh Bank in November 2017 granted, from its export retention quota into its subsidiary Akij Resources SDN BHD in Malaysia.