Netflix gets VAT registration in Bangladesh

The USA-based subscription streaming service and production company Netflix has got the Value-Added Tax (VAT) identification number from the National Board of Revenue (NBR).

The Web streaming giant on Wednesday received the Business Identification Number (004319482/0208) registration from the Customs, Excise and VAT Commissionerate, Dhaka South.

Netflix in this regard used its Singapore address and received the registration with the name of Netflix PTE Limited, Singapore.

SM Humayun Kabir, Commissioner, Custom, Excise, and VAT Commissionerate, Dhaka South informed the BSS about this development.

He said PricewaterhouseCoopers would be their local consultant. Netflix will now pay 15 percent VAT on revenues generated from Bangladesh from this December.

The NBR made it mandatory in July 2019 for tech giants to either set up offices in Bangladesh or appoint agents so that the government can collect VAT on the advertisements and other services provided by them to local firms.

Netflix is a subscription-based business model making money with three simple plans: basic, standard, and premium, giving access to stream series, movies, and shows.

As of October 2021, Netflix has over 214 million subscribers worldwide, including 74 million in the United States and Canada, 70 million in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, 39 million in Latin America, and 30 million in Asia-Pacific. The company posted a net income of $2.761 billion during its 2020 Fiscal Year, which ended 31 December 2020.

Netflix also has a large number of subscribers in Bangladesh.

Earlier in this financial year, Google, Facebook, Amazon, and Microsoft obtained their Business Identification Number (BIN) from the NBR. These tech giants are now paying VAT regularly to NBR.