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Local realtors have urged the government to reduce the registration fee from the existing 15.5 per cent to 6.5 per cent on purchase of flats and plots to help increase their sales.
They made the plea on Saturday in a meeting with the National Board of Revenue (NBR). Real Estate and Housing Association of Bangladesh (REHAB) held the meeting at a city hotel. NBR Chairman Nojibur Rahman was the chief guest.
The REHAB leaders at the meeting said the registration cost in the housing sector in Bangladesh is much higher than in any of the other South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) countries. So it is necessary to reduce the charge.
Because of the high registration cost, buyers are also losing their interest in registering their flats and the government is being deprived of the due share of revenue from this sector, they said.
They also sought a cut in the registration fees on second-hand flats by 3.0 per cent to help create a secondary market of real estate business. At present the registration fee for the secondary market is as same as the new one.
If they can create the secondary market, the transactions in this sector will increase and the government's revenue income will also rise, they added.
They also said although the real estate now is considered an industry, it is not getting due facilities. They urged the concerned authorities including the NBR to provide the facilities. Their other demands include a refinancing fund worth Tk 20.0 billion with a 5.0 per cent interest rate for a period of 30 years to help the buyers. The buyers should be provided with bank loans at 5.0 per cent interest rate.
Alamgir Shamsul Alamin, president of the REHAB, said they had long been clamouring for reducing the cost of registration. Now the government should lay emphasis on the matter.
He also presented a keynote paper in which he urged the NBR to cut the existing corporate tax. Tax at source and VAT on the fees of professionals and technical service providers also should be reduced, he said.
Liakat Ali Bhuiyan, vice president of the association, proposed that the NBR form a special team for the real-estate sector during preparing the national budget to address the issues properly. If possible, members of the REHAB also can be included in the team, he said.
Not only the real estate businessmen but also about 250 backward linkage industries are involved with this sector, he disclosed. So when the sector slows down, other related industries also face a setback, he said. So the government should protect the interests of the sector, he added.
NBR chief Nojibur Rahman said there are a good number of directives of NBR on the real estate industry.
"We will put emphasis on real estate industry considering its potential," he mentioned.
He also sought opinion from the REHAB on the draft law to address their issues. Through the new act, existing complications will be resolved, he expressed the hope.
The REHAB is running with about 1020 members. The sector is producing nearly 15,000 to 17,000 flats yearly by employing 3.5 million people in the country.