Dhaka, March 4 -- National Board of Revenue (NBR) Chairman Md Abdur Rahman Khan on Tuesday said if the business people come to a consensus, the government wants to implement a single, universal Value Added Tax (VAT) rate in the country.

"If necessary, we will lower the rate, it should be a single rate, if the business people come to a consensus," he said while holding a pre-budget meeting with the leaders of FICCI and MCCI at NBR conference room.

The revenue collecting chief said that at best there might be two VAT rates. "If the service sector thinks that the rate is harsh for them, then we can lower the rate for them, but we have to bring the VAT rate into a discipline," he said.

The NBR Chairman said that if the VAT rate can be fixe...