MCCI urges for 5-yr trade licences for greater ease of doing business

Business leaders of the Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI) on Thursday urged the government to provide trade licences for five years instead of for one to increase the ease of doing business in the country.

At a programme titled "Issuance/Renewal of licences for 5 years", organised by the MCCI at its auditorium in Dhaka, they said they have to invest much time and labour to renew their licence every year, which causes them a lot of suffering. 

Discussing trade licence, fire licence, environmental licence and others, MCCI President Md Saiful Islam said the ease of doing business makes a large contribution to expanding investment in any country.

"Foreign investors decide to invest in any country scrutinising the parameters of trade and investment characteristics. They also look for indexes of business facilitation and various activities before investing," he said during his welcome speech.

"Currently, most licences, except a few, are issued or renewed on a yearly basis. The government can ensure a huge revenue in the first year of giving out licences if the system can be fixed for five years. Trade will also be facilitated this way," he said.

"As the Russia-Ukraine war has created an uncertain environment across the world, we have to make a good environment for trade and investment to strengthen our economy," he added.

Member of the Board of Directors and the immediate past president Nihad Kabir pointed out that a prerequisite for trade licences for e-commerce companies was to operate from a commercial premises. She believed a waiver of this condition would help many small e-commerce businesses. 

Md Shahidullah Azim, acting president, Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association , mentioned that the ready-made garment sector was eyeing $100 billion export volume by 2030, and a five-year licence period would very much be welcomed by the sector.  

Chief guest of the event, Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) Barrister Sheikh Fazle Noor Taposh, said, "We have no objection to issuing licences for 5 to 10 years. However, we have to collect the AIT and Vat of the trade licences and inform the National Board of Revenue on how the charge will be taken."

Barrister Sheikh Fazle Noor Taposh said the trade licence fee for most businesses in the DSCC area was between Tk500-Tk1,500. But apart from this, Advance Income Tax (AIT) was Tk3,000 with the VAT added. 

Taposh said the DSCC was ready to give multiple year trade licences as long as the other relevant bodies whose approvals were required by businesses would provide their permissions on time. 

He also pointed out that the high VAT and AIT had to be taken into consideration.

The event ended with a vote of thanks by MCCI Senior Vice-President  Kamran T Rahman.