E-commerce Firms Delay Refunds

Foodi has been honored with the Best Retail Startup (Honorable Mention) award at the Bangladesh Retail Awards 2024, organized by the Bangladesh Brand Forum on the night of October 5 at La Meridien in the capital. Within just a few months, Foodi has achieved over 450,000 downloads and is connected with more than 4,000 restaurants.

An audit by the VAT Intelligence, Audit, and Investigation Directorate has uncovered significant VAT evasion by Daraz Bangladesh Limited in three areas: sales underreporting, improper deduction of VAT on services, and rental payments. Between April 2020 and March 2021, Daraz sold goods worth Tk 91 crore but declared only Tk 85 crore, hiding sales worth Tk 5.4 crore and evading VAT of over Tk 48 lakh, including interest. Additionally, the company failed to pay VAT on rental payments, amounting to Tk 36 lakh including interest.

Bangladesh's agricultural startups face significant challenges, primarily due to a lack of funding and investor interest, despite the sector's vast economic potential. Financial institutions often regard agriculture as high-risk, forcing startups to rely on seed funding and early-stage capital. The agriculture sector, valued at around $40 billion and employing over 40% of the labor force, is increasingly threatened by climate change impacts like flash floods and erratic rainfall, which further discourage investment.

Banglalink Orange Club members can now receive a 10% discount on bike rides, car rides, and food orders via the Pathao app. This partnership was formalized during a signing ceremony attended by Banglalink's Rafiq Ahmed and Pathao's Abrar Hasnain.

The commerce ministry has instructed Bangladesh Bank to ensure that banks require a digital business identification (DBID) number when opening accounts for e-commerce companies. The DBID, introduced by the commerce ministry, serves as a unique identifier for digital businesses and aims to consolidate the e-commerce sector while fostering trust between buyers and sellers.