VAT on passports troubles workers
People will now have to pay extra bucks to get their passports issued or renewed as the Department of Immigration and Passport yesterday started collecting 15 percent VAT on fees for the travel document.
Though the VAT was introduced in 2010, it could not be collected so far, mainly due to a relaxed stance of the National Board of Revenue.
However, the move came as a surprise to many, especially low-income people.
"I was unaware of the VAT. Luckily, I had some extra money. Otherwise, I would have been in trouble," said Mohammad Russell, who came from Keraniganj to Dhaka to apply for a new passport as he plans to go abroad for a job.
He paid Tk 3,000 as fee for a regular passport, plus Tk 450 as value-added tax. The cost for an "urgent passport" will thus rise to Tk 6,900, including VAT.
On December 23, the immigration department issued a letter to banks to collect the VAT.
But bankers yesterday said it was not clear when the VAT would be effective. In absence of any clear guideline, several branches of banks stopped receiving money for passports.
The Daily Star visited the Segunbagicha branch of Sonali Bank where officials said they were not receiving the money in absence of clear instruction from their higher authority.
Md Siraj Uddin, additional director general at the passport department, said VAT collection began yesterday, but he could not clearly say why the process started without any prior notice.
Md Matiar Rahman Biswas, manager of Sonali Bank's Agargaon branch, said the branch office initially received only fees for passports, as there was no instruction from which date the VAT has to be collected.
"We had to face huge crowd today for payments of fees for passport and VAT," he said.
Overseas jobseekers are going to be hit hard by the VAT. Currently, over 80 lakh Bangladeshis work abroad and sent $14 billion home last fiscal year.
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