The e-Commerce Association of Bangladesh (e-CAB) today wants the value-added tax on the rents of any company's office, warehouse, fulfilment centre and sorting houses to be abolished, as the cost affects the pricing of products also.

The association also demanded the VAT on takeaways for online and app-based food delivery services to be lowered to 5 per cent from the existing 15 per cent.

The e-CAB said the difference between retail business and sales through marketplaces is not clearly distinguished and defined in the VAT law and such clarification is required to be aligned with the Digital Commerce Standard Operating Procedure 2021.

The difference between the two should be included in the guidelines, the association said.

Shomi Kaiser, president of the e-CAB, made the proposal in a pre-budget discussion for 2022-23 fiscal year with the National Board of Revenue (NBR) at the NBR headquarters in the capital.

In the time of the fourth industrial revolution and growing digital literacy, e-commerce has become one of the most promising sectors, said Hasinul Quddus, chief corporate affairs officer at Daraz.

The sector is expected to grow exponentially over the coming years, he said while presenting proposal papers at the event.

Muhammad Abdul Wahed Tomal, general secretary of the e-CAB, also spoke.

At present, the e-CAB has more than 1,500 members throughout the country.