Dhaka: Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Tuesday said the government has no plan to impose value added tax (VAT) on education, including private universities.

She said this while presiding over the meeting of the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (Ecnec) held at the NEC conference room in Dhaka.

‘The Prime Minister unequivocally said no such step (imposition of VAT on private universities) will be taken. She thinks there’s no need for the imposition of VAT on education for the sake of its development,’ Planning Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal said while briefing reporters after the Ecnec meeting.

He said the Prime Minister came up with the disclosure following the remark of Finance Minister AMA Muhith over the imposition of VAT on private universities.

The government will take VAT from private university owners, the Finance Minister told reporters after a pre-budget discussion on Monday last.

Mustafa Kamal, however, said all the participants agreed that VAT cannot be imposed on private universities.