No idea about imposing VAT on metro rail fares: Quader

Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader on Friday said he was not aware of imposing a 15% value added tax (VAT) on metro rail fares from July.

“Who suddenly announced such a thing? We do not know anything about it,” Quader, also general secretary of the ruling Awami League, said while addressing a party programme in Dhaka.

“We will discuss this issue with the prime minister. Metro rail is a service-oriented transportation and people are getting the benefit of it. We have not made any decision on imposing VAT.”

The minister said they do not know who suddenly announced it before any high-level decision of the government. Journalists should have asked about it.

The National Board of Revenue (NBR) had provided a VAT exemption on metro rail ticket prices last year, considering the service was not fully operational.

The NBR has decided to withdraw the tax exemption enjoyed by the metro rail authority from July this year.

On Thursday, the revenue board sent a letter to the Dhaka Mass Transit Company Ltd (DMTCL) in this regard.