Buildtrade Group's Bashundhara Steel Complex sued for Tk 8.48 crore VAT evasion

Bashundhara Steel Complex Ltd, a concern of Buildtrade Group, has been sued for reportedly evading Tk 8.48 crore of value-added tax (VAT).

The VAT Audit, Intelligence and Investigation Directorate (VAIID), the field office of the National Board of Revenue (NBR), filed the case after it found the evidence of the VAT evasion, said a press release of VAIID yesterday.

The Buildtrade Group purchased the ownership of Bashundhara Steel Complex Ltd, a pipe manufacturer and supplier company in Tejgaon area of Dhaka, from Bashundhara Group in August 2015.

A team of the VAT intelligence investigated the annual audit report, monthly submissions and copies of treasury invoices and other related documents of the company from July 2015 to June 2019, according to the VAIID.

Scrutinizing the documents, the investigator found that the company evaded VAT of about Tk 5.32 crore in the investigation period and the total amount of evasion stands at Tk 8.48 crore including the interest and other charges.

Although the company is required to prepare an annual audit report as it is registered as a limited company, it could not show the annual audit report of the investigation period except for the financial year 2014-2015 and they did not submit the annual audit report to the income tax office, VAIID said.

This correspondent could not reach Enayetur Rahman, chairman and managing director of Buildtrade Group, over the phone for his comment in this regard.