On Saturday 08-06-24, the Tour Operators Association of Bangladesh (TOAB) in a press release demanded a review of the proposal to return 15 percent Value Added Tax (VAT) on the services of tour operators in the budget.
On Thursday, May 6, 2024, Finance Minister Abul Hasan Mahmud Ali (MP) presented the proposed budget of Tk 7 lakh 97 thousand crores in the National Parliament. In the mentioned budget, the finance minister proposed to withdraw the current VAT exemption on tour operator services.
Rafeuzzaman, president of TOAB, said, “The tours we operate, we do not have the opportunity to take musak from the tourists. Because the hotels that we stay in, those hotels pay the government musak on food and accommodation. So if Musak is imposed separately on us, the tourism sector and the tour operator sector will suffer. That is why we strongly demand the government to withdraw the ban on this sector.”
TOAB reported that Rafeuzzaman, the president of the organization, met the Federation of Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) president Mahbubul Alam on Friday, May 7, 2024, and asked them to present their demands to the government for the withdrawal of VAT.
