Sangram Online: Metrorail ticket prices are increasing from the first day of the financial year 2024-25. The National Board of Revenue (NBR) has imposed a 15 percent Value Added Tax (VAT) on tickets. Effective from Monday.
Earlier, there was VAT exemption on metro rail tickets from December 28, 2022, which expired on Sunday (June 30).
The National Board of Revenue (NBR) had been providing the facility since December 28, 2022. But the company is canceling the VAT exemption after this June. For this reason, the Dhaka South Excise and VAT Commissionerate requests to take necessary measures to pay the VAT deduction and deposit to the state treasury from July 1 in the financial year 2024-2025.
This information is known from the letter sent to the managing director of Dhaka Mass Transit Company Limited. According to the letter signed by the Commissioner of Dhaka South Excise and VAT Commissionerate Shaukat Ali Sadi, the period of VAT exemption on metro rail tickets will end on June 30. NBR exempts Value Added Tax or VAT on Metrorail services from December 28 to June 30, 2022. Later, in view of the letter from Dhaka Mass Transit Company Limited, the matter was discussed again, but NBR informed that it was inadmissible to provide value added tax exemption.
In this context, in the financial year 2024-2025, the department is requested to inform the department about the necessary formalities to collect value added tax on metro rail services such as setting the price of tickets including 15 percent musak and preparing to pay the musak to the state treasury.
The Prime Minister inaugurated the country’s first metro rail from Uttara to Agargaon on 28 December 2022. After that, metro rail service was gradually extended up to Motijheel. Metrorail has no class or classification of passengers. All passengers can travel to and from the designated destination at the same fare.
Besides, freedom fighters and children above three feet can travel free of charge and people with special needs can travel on metro rail at 10 to 15 percent discount. But, as there is no class or classification of Metrorail and Metrorail passengers for all, no MUSC or VAT is currently applicable on Metrorail services until now.