Google registers to pay VAT in Bangladesh

Search engine giant Google has taken up a business identification number (BIN) in Bangladesh to avail value-added tax (VAT)-related services including VAT payment and VAT return submissions.

Kazi Mostafizur Rahman, project director of the VAT Online project under the National Board of Revenue (NBR), confirmed this to media on Tuesday.

An additional commissioner at NBR, requesting anonymity, said that the government is getting revenue from Google with the help of Bangladesh Bank.

“Bangladesh bank was collecting VAT from Google through Google AdSense. It gives us the amount after charging for their work. But from now we can get VAT directly from Google as it is registered now,” he added.

Earlier, the NBR amended the VAT Act to provide direct VAT benefits to companies.

According to the Value Added Tax and Supplementary Duty Act, 2012, companies like Facebook, YouTube and Google have to register for VAT and set up offices in Bangladesh or hire VAT agents.

NBR sources said that it was decided international technology companies like Facebook, Google, YouTube and Microsoft would not be able to conduct business in Bangladesh without VAT registration.

According to that decision, these companies will either have to set up offices in Bangladesh, or hire VAT agents.

If they wanted to do business in Bangladesh, then they would have to pay taxes to the government for conducting its business here.

In other words, there are some more complications including not having a permanent office in Bangladesh, which may be solved permanently in the proposed budget for the fiscal year 2021-22.

Currently, only the provision of hiring a VAT agent in case of payment of VAT is applicable at present.

If resolved, the issue of hiring an agent will remain as an alternative opportunity. Currently, under VAT law, local VAT agents are responsible for paying VAT.

Companies have been facing various problems since 2019 to get VAT registration and submit VAT returns.

There was a demand from them to get this service directly as per VAT law.

But due to legal complications, foreign companies had to hire VAT agents to get VAT services.