Restaurant owners call for business-friendly tax policies, harassment-free environment

The Bangladesh Restaurant Owners Association (BROA) on Friday placed a seven-point charter of demands at a press conference held at its central office in the capital’s Purana Paltan area on Friday, urging the government to make business-friendly tax policies in the national budget for 2026-27 fiscal year.

The association called on the government to introduce a uniform Value Added Tax (VAT) rate for restaurants and catering services and scrap the proposed source tax on essential commodities in the budget.

In the press conference, BROA Secretary General Imran Hassan welcomed the initiative of the BNP government and Finance Minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury to formulate a business-friendly budget amidst prevailing macroeconomic challenges, high inflation, and banking sector volatility.

He, however, noted that soaring operational costs driven by spikes in electricity and LPG prices, coupled with high inflation, have pushed the restaurant industry into a deep crisis, which was not adequately addressed in the proposed budget.

Expressing severe frustration over regulatory bottlenecks, Imran Hassan said, “It feels as if we are living in the Dark Ages (Ayyam-i Jahiliyya). There are only black laws and harassment everywhere.”

He urged the newly formed government to ensure a harassment-free environment to keep businesses afloat.

Presenting the demands, BROA proposed a uniform 5 per cent VAT for both restaurants and catering services to eliminate existing market discrimination. Currently, restaurants pay 5 per cent VAT while catering services are charged 15 per cent.
The association also demanded bringing all food establishments, including street food vendors, under the VAT registration net to stop unfair competition and boost government revenue.

To alleviate the cost-of-living pressure on ordinary citizens, BROA urged the government to completely scrap the proposed 0.5 per cent source tax and 10 per cent supplementary duty on essential commodities.

While thanking the government for offering a 60 per cent depreciation benefit in the first year and 40 per cent in the second year for new restaurant machinery outside Dhaka, the association requested the Ministry of Finance and Bangladesh Bank to issue special directives to financial institutions for providing low-interest loans to the sector.

Refusing the Finance Minister’s proposal to extend the VAT payment period to three months, the association demanded maintaining the previous system of monthly VAT payments and return submissions to ensure a smooth business workflow.

Highlighting red-tape bureaucratic hurdles, Imran Hassan pointed out that a restaurant currently needs 10 to 12 separate approvals from various authorities to operate, which breeds harassment and escalates costs.

To resolve this, the association demanded the immediate implementation of a “One-Stop Service” under an integrated compliance framework, the formulation of a specific industry policy for the restaurant sector, and making BROA membership mandatory for launching any restaurant business in line with the Trade Organisations Act.

BROA Vice-President Shah Sultan Khokon, Joint Secretary General Firoz Alam Sumon and Organising Secretary Towfikur Islam, among others, were also present at the press conference.