Government grants sweeping 10-year tax holiday to two foreign firms at Laldia, Pangaon terminals

A Danish firm will build the Laldia container terminal, while a Swiss company is in charge of constructing river terminal at Pangaon

Two foreign companies tasked with developing a container terminal at Laldia Char in Chattogram and a river terminal in Pangaon will receive up to 10 years of tax-free benefits, the National Board of Revenue (NBR) has confirmed.

NBR Chairman Abdur Rahman Khan said the exemptions fall under existing provisions.

On Monday, the government signed an agreement with Denmark’s APM Terminals for the Laldia terminal. On the same day, it sealed a separate deal with Swiss company Medlog for the Pangaon river terminal.

Asked whether the agreements include any new tax waivers, the NBR chief said on Wednesday: “They came to us; we gave our consideration.”

When pressed on whether construction materials would be exempted from duties, he replied: “No, no, not those. These exemptions already existed. Under our 2017 public-private partnership law, several exemptions were in place -- but not everything.”

He said, “This is about the main operating companies; they will get a 10-year tax holiday. Their foreign staff, including technical experts, will also receive certain exemptions.”

He made clear that duties on imported construction materials would still apply, saying: “There is no exemption there.”

Stressing that no benefits beyond the old SRO have been added, he said: “They will receive what the PPP SRO already grants. Nothing else has been done. We only checked whether any clause of their construction contract conflicted with our rules. We found no conflict.”

Speaking at an event in Gulshan on Wednesday, the NBR chairman reiterated that royalties, technical-knowledge fees and dividends for these companies will remain tax-exempt.

Under the 2017 SRO, firms investing in PPP-based infrastructure -- ranging from highways, expressways, flyovers and river bridges to ports, airports, rail lines, bus terminals and even care homes -- qualify for 100 percent income-tax exemption for 10 years.

Another order grants foreign technicians employed in such projects a 50 percent income-tax exemption in their first three years.