Gazi Anowarul Hoque :
The National Board of Revenue (NBR) is set to introduce online tax return submission system within the ongoing fiscal yearwith an aim to relieve people of the hassles of dealing with paperwork and to boost revenue collection, sources said.
According to the sources, after putting the system in place, the revenue authority expects to get the double amount of realized tax.
Under the scheme, taxpayers will be able to submit returns online by using their tax payment receipt numbers or chalans.
The taxpayers will get acknowledgement receipts from the tax authority electronically, an NBR official said. “We are currently piloting the online tax filing system and training field level officials.”
Taxmen said it would take some time to accommodate the income tax related changes in the software, based on the proposals in the budget for fiscal 2016-17. Currently, the NBR pilots online tax return filing based on changes brought in fiscal 2015-16.
“The individual and corporate taxpayers can file tax returns and get tax certificates through online tax payment system from the current fiscal. They will also be able to pay their tax through e-payment,” NBR Chairman M Nojibur Rahman told the New Nation on Tuesday.
He said the initiative was taken under a programme called Strengthening Governance Management Project (SGMP), which was to connect NBR’s main server with its 649 tax circles of 31 tax zones.
“The project is scheduled to be completed by November 30 this year,” the NBR chief said adding that the introduction of the system would double the amount to tax to be collected.
The NBR took the initiative to introduce e-filing of tax returns in 2011 with financial assistance from the Asian Development Bank at a cost of Tk 78.98 crore. Of the amount, Tk 12.98 crore came from government funds.
The tax authority’s initiative comes after it launched the online registration of taxpayer identification numbers or e-TINs in 2013.
About 20 lakh taxpayers, including companies, have signed up for e-TINs country but only 12 lakh TIN-holders submit their returns, according to the NBR.
Insiders said a data centre and data recovery centre have been already established at the Bangladesh Computer Council.
Electronic filing of tax returns will increase accountability and transparency in the tax administration as it will reduce human interaction and ensure higher compliance.
The NBR hired FPT Information System, a Vietnamese firm, to develop the platform at a cost of Taka 51 crore. The company will provide support services to the NBR from 2015 to 2018 so that the e-filing system runs smoothly.
The NBR said the online tax system will merge IT-based initiatives, such as online VAT administration and Customs’ Asycuda World system, to enable taxmen to gather and exchange information among departments.
