The Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI) urged the government on Tuesday to lower the interest rate on home loans and lessen the VAT rate on construction materials. The DCCI made the appeal, when a delegation led by its President Hossain Khaled called on Housing and Public Works Minister Engineer Mosharraf Hossain at the latter’s Secretariat office in the city. The DCCI president said though housing is one of the basic needs, the rate of interest on home loan is too high in the country. He called upon the government to slash the interest rate so that people could afford buying flats. The chamber leader also recommended relocation of leather processing units to Savar and garment factories to specialised economic zones (SEZs) out of Dhaka to make it a livable city. He mentioned that non-availability of gas connections resulted in lower sales of flats and apartments in recent times. He also proposed a cut in the high rate of registration fees, stamp duties, gain taxes on sales and transfer of flats and apartments. The chamber leader also urged the government to reduce the 15 per cent VAT on construction materials to reduce the costs of business in this sector. Speaking on the occasion, the minister said the government has planned to construct 30,000 flats under a public-private initiative in the city’s Mirpur area. He also said that to ensure ‘Accommodation for All’ the rate of interest on housing loan should come down to a single digit level. During the meeting secretary of the ministry Shahid Ulla Khandaker, DCCI Vice President K. Atique-e-Rabbani, Directors Hossain Akhtar, Kamrul Islam, Md. Alauddin Malik, Muktar Hossain Chowdhury, Salim Akter Khan and DCCI Secretary General AHM Rezaul Kabir were also present.
