SME owners in Dhaka on Saturday said that the existing system, laws and complicated paperwork relating to the initiation of business bred corruption, and they were forced to go by corrupt practices.
They attributed excessive bribery in obtaining trade licences and its renewal, VAT and Income Tax returns, excessive fines, and bribe in the name of maintaining compliance, clearing customs and bank loan procedures to be reasons behind severely hampering the SME growth potential.
The entrepreneurs said this at a regional consultation organised by non-government think-tank Centre for Governance Studies in association with the Centre for International Private Enterprises, a Washington-based organisation in Dhaka on Saturday, said a press release issued on Saturday.
Representatives and business leaders at the discussion included Helal Uddin, M Shoeb Chowdhury, Shahedul Islam Helal, and Abdur Razzak.
Centre for Governance Studies executive director Zillur Rahman moderated the event.
The businesses observed that as long as the government would not take proactive steps to stop corruption, they would be forced to embrace corruption in order to remain competitive.
They called for steps to completely restructure existing laws and business norms.
The speakers said that trade bodies and associations were politically influenced and compliant with the system of corruption plaguing the economy.
The entire market system has been structured in such a way that the only way for small businesses to survive is to engage in corrupt market practices, they added.
The SME owners demanded a neutral platform to speak about these issues, and said that without receiving direct support from the government, any such platform would be ineffective.
Lack of proper internal governance among new and untrained entrepreneurs left them vulnerable to exploitation by corrupt government officials, they alleged.
Many women entrepreneurs complained that they did not get stimulus packages promised by the government.
Women entrepreneurs particularly face harassment from banks due to complicated procedures in applying for loans and LCs, they said.
News Courtesy:
https://www.newagebd.net/article/180779/existing-laws-system-breed-corruptions-sme-owners
