The New Nation - Internet Edition

BSS, Dhaka

There is no need to continue the pre-shipment inspection (PSI) for tax valuation if an export database is made and having the database in place would save a huge sum of money, remarked Commerce Minister Lt Col (retd) Faruq Khan.

"We are spending a huge amount of foreign currency as our customs department has not yet been made efficient enough to handle the PSI," he told a seminar marking the 30th anniversary of Bangladesh Indenting Agents' Association (BIAA) at a city hotel last night.

President of International Chamber of Commerce-Bangladesh (ICCB) Mahbubur Rahman spoke at the seminar as the special guest with president of BIAA Shabbir Ahmed Khan in the chair. Business leaders from chamber bodies and associations joined the seminar.

PSI is a system to verify the Tax Identification Number (TIN) and VAT Registration Number (BIN) of an importer before processing an import document.

Faruq candidly the task of tax evaluation for industrial goods has been given to a foreign company as the concerned people have no confidence in themselves.

He said the formulation of an import-export policy (2009-12) is now at the final stage in which the matter of VAT would be considered in the greater interest of the country.

There is still a wrong notion among the common people about the businessmen that they maximise the profit and evade taxes, he said.

The commerce minister brushed aside this misconception saying that the business people have brightened the country's image abroad by dint of their performance in different parts of the world.

Mahbubur Rahman lauded the introduction of the regulatory reforms commission (RRC) and better business forum (BBF), saying that they gave an impetus to the macroeconomic stability of Bangladesh.

About the idea of public-private partnership (PPP), he said, "We should mean business in real sense. It (PPP) should be open for anyone who is interested in coming in."

He favoured multilateral trade agreement among bigger and smaller countries. In this respect, he mentioned the expected TIFA agreement of Bangladesh with United States saying that involvement of more people in the negotiating process could yield positive result for Bangladesh's economy.

Shabbir Ahmed focussed on the contribution of the BIAA to the country's industrial growth. He said the reintroduction of 15 percent VAT on the indenting commission has made it difficult for the indenters to sustain.