Automobile workshop owners and workers staged a demonstration in front of the National Board of Revenue (NBR) today, demanding a reduction in the newly imposed 15 percent value-added tax (VAT) on motor garage and workshop services.

Led by the Bangladesh Automobile Workshop Malik Samity, the protesters urged the NBR to lower the VAT rate to 5 percent instead, warning that the higher tax would harm their businesses.

Over a hundred participants formed a human chain around 11 am.

Md Zahirul Haque, senior vice president of the Bangladesh Automobile Workshop Malik Samity, criticised the NBR for imposing the VAT without consulting industry stakeholders.

He also expressed concerns about the new ordinance, which sets a turnover limit of Tk 50 lakh, saying it would disproportionately burden small and medium-sized enterprises.

Haque said VAT should be levied on landowners instead of workshop owners, calling the current policy a "forceful imposition."

Following the protest, the NBR held a meeting with representatives of the Bangladesh Automobile Workshop Malik Samity, assuring them of keeping the VAT rate at the previous 10 percent.

The VAT hike is part of the NBR's broader initiative to increase revenue collection. On January 9, the board raised VAT and supplementary duties on nearly 100 goods and services.