The National Board of Revenue (NBR) has rejected a plea of Dhaka Club for a waiver of Tk 33.7 crore in unpaid value-added tax (VAT) and supplementary duty (SD).

The field offices of the NBR claimed the indirect tax in line with the VAT law. Hence, there is no scope to waive the amount.

"For this reason, the NBR expresses its inability," the VAT wing of the tax administrator said in a letter to Dhaka Club.

The issue of unpaid VAT and SD of Dhaka Club came to the surface after the Dhaka South VAT office found that one of the oldest elite clubs did not deposit Tk 26.69 crore in VAT and Tk 7 crore in SD.

The VAT and SD were due against sales of services such as booking charge, service charge, rent, bar, beauty parlour, guest house rent, health service, mess, cardroom and laundry between October 2009 and September 2014.

The field office also found Tk 7.05 crore of unpaid VAT by the club through an audit into its accounts from period between September 30, 2015 and June 2016.

The field office of the NBR issued a demand notice to Dhaka Club in July 2017 first. Since then, the Dhaka South VAT office has served several notices on the club authority asking for payment of the due VAT and SD.

The field office also warned the club about freezing bank accounts for non-payment of unpaid tax.

In response, the Dhaka Club urged the NBR for time. It also urged the revenue authority for exemption from paying the VAT.

The club made the latest appeal for the exemption in February this year.

The NBR turned down the proposal on March 29.

Pramila Sarker, additional commissioner of VAT Commissionerate Dhaka South, said the field office would ask Dhaka Club for payment of the VAT and SD.

Contacted, Zahirul Alim, secretary of Dhaka Club, said the club did not collect VAT from its members during the time for which the claim was made.

"As the NBR has not exempted, we will settle the issue through negotiation," he said.