Global tech giant Google has paid Tk 2.30 crore as value-added tax (VAT) directly to the National Board of Revenue.

It has paid Tk 55.77 lakh for the month of May and Tk 1.74 crore for June, said SM Humayun Kabir, commissioner of VAT Commissionerate, Dhaka South.

In the past, banks used to deduct VAT during payment by service recipients to Google. Now Google is depositing the indirect tax to state coffer separately, Kabir said.

The American multinational company got VAT registration from the revenue authority in the middle of May this year, ending a two-year stalemate over the issue.

In July 2019, the NBR slapped conditions for tech giants to either set up offices in Bangladesh or appoint agents such that the government can collect VAT on the advertisements and other services provided by them to local firms.

However, internet companies were unwilling to set up representative offices here.

They were also not interested to pay the indirect tax or VAT to the NBR through agents or share data on sales containing information about customers on the ground of privacy breaches and security risks.

Early last year, the NBR decided to allow tech giants to get direct VAT registration without opening local offices in order to bring them under the tax network.

This time, a Singapore branch of Citibank NA remitted the VAT amount to the account of the NBR on behalf of Google Asia Pacific Pte, also based in Singapore.

PwC Bangladesh will work as local consultant to Google Asia Pacific in Bangladesh.