The National Board of Revenue on Monday has extended the exemption period of the value added tax on metro rail tickets for one more year.
The exemption facility will be in effect till December 31 this year.
The board issued an office order on the day in this regard.
The country鈥檚 first-ever electricity-powered elevated and air-conditioned rail system is in operation now on the 20.1-kilometre-long Uttara-Motijheel route every day.
According to the existing VAT law, there is a provision to impose a 15 per cent VAT on the air-conditioned rail system.
Though metro rail provides air-conditioned services, no VAT has been imposed on it since the beginning following a request by the Dhaka Mass Transit Company Limited, the implementing agency of the metro rail.
The Monday order read that the transport cost of the metro rail should be made convenient to make the services more popular which is the most updated and a popular public transport in Bangladesh and keeping important roles in easing traffic congestion and saving work hours.
For this, the order continued, following the Value Added Tax and Supplementary Duty Act 2012鈥檚 Section 126 (3) exemption of the VAT on the metro rail tickets has been given.
The order will be in effect immediately and till December 31 this year, it added.
Earlier the NBR issued an office order on April 4, 2024, to impose VAT on the metro rail services from July 1, 2024.
But later the government did not impose VAT on the metro rail services.
The metro rail system on the 11.73-kilometre-long Uttara鈥揂gargaon section was inaugurated on December 28, 2022.
On November 4, the service from Agargaon to Motijheel was inaugurated.
The entire MRT line 6 project on the 21.26-kilometre-long Uttara-Kamalapur route is scheduled to be inaugurated in December this year.