Around 10,000 cases for recovering a combined Tk 21,500 crore in value added tax (VAT) remains held up in different courts across Bangladesh, according to data of the National Board of Revenue (NBR).

The NBR is now working to expedite the settlement of these cases and thereby collect the VAT owed, which would go a long way in helping the country achieve its revenue target for fiscal 2023-24.

The revenue authority aims to collect Tk 4.5 lakh crore in the current fiscal year, focusing mainly on indirect taxes such as VAT, which will contribute 35 percent while customs duties and income tax make up the rest.

Of the ongoing cases, 3,408 involving Tk 16,178 crore are pending at the High Court, the NBR said.

"We have taken steps so that the cases are resolved fast," said Md Sahidul Islam, member of the NBR's VAT audit and intelligence wing.

He was speaking at a press meet organised by the NBR at its headquarters in Dhaka, where the revenue authority announced plans to celebrate VAT Day on December 10 this year, kicking off VAT Week.

In October, 148 cases involving Tk 129 crore were settled while another 186 new ones were filed.

On the NBR's initiatives for increasing VAT collection, Moinul Khan, member for VAT implementation and IT at the NBR, said they registered an around 17 percent growth in the past five months even though imports recently decreased by about 30 percent.

"This progress was made due to increased monitoring and expanding the VAT net among more businesses," he added.

Asked if the recent political unrest will have an impact on tax collection, Masud Sadiq, member of customs policy at the NBR, said everyone knows that revenue collection was easier in a stable political atmosphere.

"Still, even political unrest has some positive consequences," he said, citing how a recent rise in cigarette and soft drink sales were helping increase VAT collection.

VAT Implementation Member Khan said the NBR has started benefitting from the installation of electronic fiscal devices (EFDs) at retail stores as VAT collection has climbed 10 times since their launch in August 2020.

At present, the tax administration is getting VAT worth around Tk 50,000 per month from each shop using the device. Before the introduction of EFDs, monthly VAT receipts stood at about Tk 5,000 from each shop.

The tax collector has installed about 18,000 EFDs at the retail level to bring transparency in VAT collection, he added.

The NBR initially installed 100 EFDs at stores and businesses across Dhaka and Chattogram.

The revenue authority plans to set up 60,000 more EFDs this fiscal year and another 3 lakh in the next five years.

The EFDs are provided free of cost to 25 types of businesses, including shops, hotels, restaurants, sweet stores, apparel outlets, furniture and electronics stores, and jewellers.