The Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (BIDA) has added three more services to its ‘One Stop Service (OSS) Centre’ aimed at providing all necessary services for investors from a single window.
This is part of its effort to improve the ease of doing business environment in the country.
The new services added on Wednesday were: applicants’ National Identity Card (NID) verification from the Bangladesh Election Commission’s server, security clearance from Home Ministry’s Security Service Division and land clearance from Chittagong Development Authority (CDA).
Prime Minister’s Private Industry and Investment Affairs Adviser Salman Fazlur Rahman formally inaugurated the services in a virtual event presided over by BIDA Executive Chairman Md Sirazul Islam.
With the new addition, BIDA is now providing 21 services online under its OSS centre launched on February 24 in 2019.
The rules framed under the One-Stop Service Act 2018 make it compulsory for 25 investment facilitating agencies and regulatory authorities to give registration, issue clearance, permits and other documents within a day to up to 45 days. Salman said the initiative would help to achieve significant progress in the Ease of Doing Business Index of the World Bank.
“Bangladesh will attain double digits in the global Ease of Doing Business ranking in 2021 amid the impact on the country’s economic activities, hit by the Covid-19 pandemic,” he said.
He said the officials at the field level have to realize the importance of improving in the ease of doing business index and work cordially for the sake of the country’s development.
“The private sector is contributing well in the country’s economy as the government has made a favourable environment for the sector,” he said.
He also stressed on expanding tax net as Bangladesh’s tax to GDP ratio is very low among south Asian countries due to weak tax structure.
“Those who are paying taxes are in pressure but those who are able to pay tax, they do not pay it. So, tax structure should be changed,” he said.
The BIDA executive chairman, Sirazul Islam said they were working closely with their partners to achieve the target of delivering 150 services of 35 agencies through the OSS by 2021.
Secretary to the Security Service division Md Shahiduzzaman, Secretary to the Bangladesh Election Commission Md Alamgir and Secretary to the Housing and Public Works Ministry Md Shahid Ullah Khandaker spoke at the event.