Shawdesh Desk:

A private firm, Genex Infosys Limited, will provide and install 300,000 VAT collecting machines in Dhaka city, its adjoining areas and Chottagram city in the next three years.

Cabinet Committee on Government Purchase at a meeting on Wednesday approved a proposal of the National Board of Revenue to select Genex Infosys as a vendor to collect value added tax on behalf of the government.

Finance minister AHM Mustafa Kamal presided over the virtual meeting while members of the committee attended it.

Genex Infosys was selected through an open tender, said additional secretary of the Cabinet Division Abdul Barik while briefing on the decisions of the committee.

He said that the Genex as a lowest bidder won the contract in three lots to supply and install Electronic Fiscal Device and Sales Data Controller or VAT collecting machines at different types of retail shops.

Earlier, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs gave its nod in-principle to this decision of NBR on August 31.

Barik said the vendor will supply and install the machines at its own cost and in return it will get 0.52-0.538 per cent of the collected money as service charge while depositing it to the government.

It will also carry out the operation and maintenance work as well, he added.

According to NBR officials, it’s not possible for the government to operate so many machines across the country, that’s why service outsourcing is being done.

However, installation of EFD machines started two years ago but there is not much speed in its operation.