Planning ministry has expressed dissatisfaction over the implementation situation of the annual development programme as some ministries and divisions are yet to start ground works of the projects.
Meanwhile, finance ministry is worried about the revenue collection situation in the first quarter of fiscal year. NBR blamed slow ADP implementation as one of the reasons behind poor revenue.
The issues were discussed at the Budget Management Committee meeting and Fiscal Coordination Council meetings yesterday, said officials who also attended the meeting.
Finance Minister AMA Muhith presided over both the meetings. Planing Minister AHM Mostafa Kamal attended the budget management committee meeting.
Fiscal Coordination Council meeting cited a plan to make an ordinance instead of amendments to the existing Bank Company Act for extension of duration of banks’ capital exposure in the stock market.
According to the Bank Company Act 2013 (amendment), the banks cannot invest more than 25% of their capital in stocks.
An official said Finance Minister AMA Muhith expressed his concerns about the shortfall of revenue earnings at the coordination council meeting.
And Planning Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal was unhappy over “poor project implementation” by several ministries and divisions. He talked about this situation at the budget management committee meeting.
The meetings discussed issues like banks’ share market exposure, shortfall of NBR and non-NBR revenue collections and economic indicators.
Among the economic indicators, the exports in four months to October earned $10.5bn against the fiscal year’s target of $33.5bn. Remittance totalled $12bn, which is expected to cross $15bn at the end of December.
During the July-October, a number of 430,000 people were sent abroad as manpower, which is likely to reach 500,000 in December.
NBR Chairman Nojibur Rahman sought all-out cooperation from all ministries and divisions to meet the revenue collection target.
He said if the ministries and divisions issue work orders of development projects and pay dues to NBR in time, the revenue collection will increase.
In the budget management committee meeting, planning minister queried LGRD additional secretary that why ADP project works didn’t begin in the first day of a fiscal year.
According to the working papers of the committee, the rate of ADP implementation is 6.7% in the first quarter compared to 8.8% during the same period last year.
The revenue earnings during the July-September quarter was 0.6% less than the income generated during the corresponding period of the previous fiscal year, according to the working papers.
Frustration was expressed at the report as it said annual development programme implementation during the first quarter was the lowest in last four years.
The finance ministry in its report said the credit growth in private sector during the first quarter was 2.63%, compared with 2.91% a year ago, export growth was 0.83% against the last year’s 0.88%.
The import registered a negative growth of 2.98% during the period, and the remittance also posted a negative growth of 2%, against 22.65% growth a year earlier.
Source: Dhaka Tribune