Govt to procure 1 lakh EFDs to check VAT evasion

The Cabinet Committee on Public Purchase on Wednesday okayed the procurement of one lakh electronic fiscal devices (EFDs), to rein in the value-added tax evasion. 

“We have approved the National Board of Revenue (NBR) proposal to purchase one lakh unit EFDs in phases at a cost of Tk317 crore,” said Finance Minister Kamal while briefing reporters after a purchase committee meeting at the Cabinet Division.

Kamal added that the government will procure some 10,000 EFDs from the Chinese Company named SZZT-KMMT-SYNESIS-EATL and each EFD will cost around Tk32,000.

“The NBR will need around two lakh EFDs in the next two years along with necessary manpower,” he informed.

The government will purchase EFDs from different sources.

“We do not want to procure from a single source,” he said. 

The central server will be maintained by the NBR and it will control the entire process, whether the EFDs are collected from Asia or Europe, Kamal said.

The finance minister said the NBR would initially set up these EFDs at shops and business houses to realise VAT. And the cost of the EFDs would be realised from the owners of the business establishments gradually.

Besides, he said the businesses would maintain these EFDs.

“We hope that the VAT collection will go up once the EFDs start functioning,” he further said.