Staff Reporter :
The National Board of Revenue (NBR) has asked all commercial banks and financial institutions to provide financial information on accounts held by Gono Forum leader Dr Kamal Hossain and his law farm Hossain and Associates.
NBR took the move as part of its ongoing probe into tax evasion allegation against Dr Kamal and his law firm.
Sources said that the Central Intelligence Cell (CIC) under the revenue board sent separate letters recently to the all commercial banks and financial institutions asking them for account information within seven days. In the letters, sent to banks, the tax authority asked for information of all accounts in the name of Dr Kamal, individually or jointly, having any type of fixed deposit, savings and loan accounts.
It also asked them to furnish information on foreign currency accounts, credit cards, savings instruments, investments or deposit schemes or any other kinds of accounts held by Dr Kamal.
Banks were asked to furnish all information including collateral against loans of law farm Hossain and Associates since October 1, 2010.
The NBR asked the banks and financial institutions to furnish the information through two separate prescribed forms attached with the letters.
In the first form, banks and financial institutions have been asked to provide detailed information on year-wise actual deposits againt bank accounts held by Dr Kamal, interest income from deposits and source tax deduction against such deposits and yaer-wise balace.
In the second form, banks and finnacial instututions have been asked to furnish detail information on loan accounts of Dr Kamal’s law firm.
When asked, a director of the CIC declined to comment on the issue saying it is confidential.
Dr Kamal Hossain could not be reached for comments despite several attempts on his cell phone.
Earlier, On November 19, 2018, the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) sent a letter to the National Board of Revenue (NBR) to investigate the allegation of tax evasion by Dr Kamal Hossain and his law firm.
In the letter, the ACC also wanted to know information about wealth statement and income tax return submitted by Kamal Hossain.
The NBR later launched an investigation into the alleged tax evasion by Dr Kamal Hossain who is a taxpayer under circle 164 of Dhaka tax zone 8.
“We have sought for bank account info of Dr Kamal as part of the probe,” a senior NBR official said adding that we are looking into the allegation in a fair way.
