Govt retracts from massive hike in trade licence fees

The government has reduced significantly trade licence fees from the rates it had increased to in March last year following a strong demand for a revision from the country’s different trade bodies.
The Local Government Division of the LGRD ministry on January 28 issued a statutory regulatory order revising the city corporation tax schedule.
Earlier in March, the LGD had issued a SRO with city corporation tax schedule raising the trade licence and renewal fees by on an average 263 per cent.
Trade bodies including the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry, Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry and Bangladesh Dokan Malik Samity protested strongly such huge hike in fees.
Later the LGD decided to review the fees and extended the trade licence renewal deadline thrice up to January 31 this year.
Traders said after January 28 revision, fees would stand on an average 70 per cent higher compared with the tax schedules for different city corporations issued since 2002.
The sector-wise fee hike ranges from 40 per cent to 110 per cent for 299 business sectors, they said.
FBCCI leaders said that the LGD requested the traders to renew their licences by February 28 by paying fees under the new schedule.
They said that traders who had already renewed the licences by paying fees at higher rates in line with the previous schedule would get opportunity to adjust the extra money they paid in fees in next year during payment of their trade licence renewal fees.

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