Businesses will not operate without licenses: Chattogram City Corporation Mayor

Chattogram City Corporation (CCC) Mayor Dr. Shahadat Hossain has directed to strengthen revenue collection to ensure sustainable development of Chattogram city.

Despite being the second largest city and commercial capital of Bangladesh, revenue collection in various sectors including trade licenses in Chattogram is still much lower than its potential. To get out of this situation, the officers and employees of the Revenue Department will have to work more actively, responsibly and field-oriented.

The mayor said these things while speaking as the chief guest at a view-exchange meeting with the officers and employees of the Revenue Department at the Tiger Pass Chattogram City Corporation meeting room on Monday (December 22).

The meeting was attended by CHC Acting Chief Executive Officer and Secretary Md. Ashraful Amin, Chief Revenue Officer Sarwar Kamal, Revenue Officer Md. Sabbir Rahman Sunny, State Officer Abhishek Das, Chief Accounting Officer Humayun Kabir Chowdhury and regional executive officers of various circles.

According to the information presented at the meeting, although it is estimated that there are about 10 lakh small and large businesses in Chattogram city, the number of trade licenses is currently less than 150,000. As a result, the city authorities are being deprived of a huge amount of potential revenue collection.

Lack of awareness among businessmen, tendency of tax evasion and shortage of logistics and manpower in the revenue department were identified as the main reasons for this situation.

It was informed at the meeting that the revenue collection rate has already increased significantly compared to the past few years. Especially in the shop sign and advertisement fee sector, it has been possible to collect more revenue in the current six months compared to the annual collection of previous years, which is expected to increase further in the coming days.

To strengthen revenue collection, provision of vests and ID cards for tax officers, excise officers and license inspectors of the license and holding branch, regular meetings, target setting, daily monitoring, circle office visits and field level campaigns have been strengthened.

The mayor said that the resolution of appeals is very important to restore the trust of taxpayers. He said that earlier, where 1-2 appeal boards were held in each circle per month and the attendance was 20-30 people, now 5 appeal boards are being held in each circle per month and more than 100 taxpayers are participating in each.

Strict monitoring is also being done to ensure that no new or expanded holding is left out during the quarterly assessment.

In the meeting, Mayor Dr. Shahadat Hossain instructed the revenue officials that the number of trade licenses should be doubled by next July. In the first phase, on-site inspections should be conducted in all the markets of the city, including the City Corporation's own market. No business establishment should be allowed to operate without a trade license and legal action will be taken through the magistrate if necessary.

He also said that in the case of advertising, the approval of the City Corporation and collection of the prescribed fee should be ensured. Although trade licenses are mandatory for all commercial establishments, including coaching centers, many establishments are spoiling the beauty of the city by advertising without obtaining a license and without permission.

This issue should be strictly controlled. He also ordered the submission of a summary report on daily revenue collection. The mayor also warned that punitive action will be taken against those concerned if they neglect their duties.