Revenue collection grows on import surge in H1

Imports have increased in the last few months owing to the low prevalence of coronavirus infections and increasing local demand, which has played a major role in revenue collection.

According to the National Board of Revenue (NBR), revenue collection in the first half of fiscal 2021-2022 has increased by 14.22% or about Tk16,000 crore compared to the corresponding period a year ago.

Customs duty saw the highest 20% increase during the July-December period of last year.

According to the Bangladesh Bank data, imports have increased by 54% in the first five months of the current financial year.

Most of the customs duties collected in the country come from the customs houses in Chattogram and Benapole.

Customs officials said imports have been on the rise for the last few months. At the same time, the recent rise in prices of a number of commercial items in the international market such as fuel oil, and an increase in shipping costs have also contributed to the growth in customs duty collections, they added.

A senior official at the Chattogram Customs House told The Business Standard that the reasons for the increase in customs duty collection include increasing enforcement of rules to curb the import of goods with misdeclaration.

Sources at the Benapole Customs House echoed the same opinion. 

Most of the internal revenue of the government is collected through the NBR.

The main sources of revenue for NBR are income tax from individuals and companies, value-added tax (VAT) on production and distribution at the local level and customs duty levied at the import level.

According to preliminary data prepared by the NBR, the offices under the revenue board have collected Tk126,209 crore in the last six months. Apart from customs duty, VAT and income tax collection increased by 9.54% and 14.83% respectively.

Despite the growth, the revenue collection has fallen short of the target by Tk17,000 crore.

However, according to the relevant sources, the collection was much less at this time of the last fiscal year.

In the first half of the last fiscal year, revenue growth was less than 4%. The growth in customs duty, VAT and income tax during the period was 6.77%, 1.16% and 4.8%, respectively.