No tax on foreign loan interest till February: NBR

The National Board of Revenue (NBR) has announced that the 20% tax imposed on the interest of foreign loans taken by businesses will not be applicable till February 2024. According to a gazette notification issued by the NBR yesterday, the exemption will not be applicable in case of advance payment of loan interest. Businesses said the tax exemption will reduce their interest cost by 1.5%-2%. The Secured Overnight Financing Rate already surged to 5.35% from as low as 0.25% during the Covid-19 pandemic and below 1% even in early 2022. Consequently, the interest rates for loans on the international market have experienced a corresponding spike. Foreign loans are subject to an added interest (margin) of up to 3.5%. Along with the rise of the global interest rate, a 20% “withholding tax” imposed in the current budget on interest payments has made foreign loans costlier. The cost of borrowing was shot up to around 11%. According to the central bank, the short-term private sector foreign debt stood at $12.13 billion at the end of October. It was $13.66 billion at the end of June.

Source: https://www.tbsnews.net/economy/no-tax-foreign-loan-interest-till-february-nbr-752354

Exports up 27% in Nov as peak festival sales begin in West

November’s overall export earnings of $4.78 billion were, however, 6% less compared to the same period of last year. Exports grew 27% in November compared to October on the back of higher demands for apparels in the West as the festival season has already set in Bangladesh’s major export destinations. Apparel exports were $4.05 billion in November, 28% higher than October’s $3.16 billion, according to the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) data released on Monday. The data of positive export trend came a day after the central bank figures showing a 2.4% decline in remittance inflow in November than the previous month. Total exports in November this year were $4.78 billion, 6.05% lower than $5.09 billion in the same period of last fiscal. In the July-November period of FY24, the export earnings from agricultural and jute products also experienced negative growth, along with engineering products, compared with a year-ago period.

Source: https://www.tbsnews.net/economy/rmg/garment-exports-decline-745-nov-751374

Nagad emerges as top VAT payer

Nagad, the fastest-growing mobile financial service provider, has once again emerged as a top VAT depositor. As in previous years, the revenue board will honour top nine VAT-paying companies at the national level in three categories — production, service, and business. Nagad’s inclusion in the top VAT payers’ list is attributed to its rapid customer growth, fuelled by innovative service offerings that have led to an upswing in transactions. Since its launch by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Nagad has garnered over 85 million customers and revolutionised the disbursements of social safety net allowances, education stipends, and even distributed cash aid to underprivileged families during the pandemic times.

Source: https://today.thefinancialexpress.com.bd/trade-market/nagad-emerges-as-top-vat-payer-1701792685