Gazi Anowarul Hoque :
The National Board of Revenue (NBR) has taken steps to prepare a list of establishments and individuals which have been dodging tax for a long time, sources said.
As part of the initiatives, the filed level officials are preparing a list of persons and organisations who are allegedly involved with tax dodging.
The tax authority has recently given some instructions to the concerned zones, commissionarates and intelligence departments to ensure tax compliance by bringing tax evaders into the tax net.
Commissioners and officials of the customs intelligence concerned of the NBR will be given instruction soon in this regard, said a NBR official.
After preparation of the list, the NBR will frame a strategy to bring those tax dodging establishments and individuals under tax net.
All commissionerates are ready to start their operation as soon as possible as per the directions, sources said.
Overall discussions in this regards would be held on September 26, they informed. There are some allegations against different local manufacturers and importers that they are involved with tax dodging and the individuals are not out of that allegation, they said.
NBR officials said, the country’s economy is gaining strengthen day-by-day and as a result it creates the potentials of huge revenue.
The tax authority has taken several measures to bring all affluent persons under the tax net but many orgazanisations and individuals are trying to stay out of the tax net. Those tax dodgers still remain as a challenge to NBR in ensuring tax compliance. The matter should be closely observed by the authority.
In this regard, the NBR chairman recently issued a 5-point directive to all commissioners and intelligence department under the board.
Talking to the NN, NBR member Md Abdur Razzak said, “Steps have been taken to prepare a list of establishments and individuals which are evading tax in our observation.”
He said country’s economy is expanding day by day and there is possibility of increasing the collection of tax. But NBR is yet to bring all eligible establishments and individuals under the tax net, he added.
“We are preparing a strategy to bring those tax dodging establishments and individuals under a regular tax-payment system,” Razzak added.
“This is a message to the dishonest businessmen to return to the right path. Do not deprive the country of revenue. The intelligence teams will follow the dishonest businesses,” he said.
This year, the target of revenue collection has been set at Tk 2,03,000 crore with nearly 30 percent growth. To meet the target, steps have been taken from the very beginning of the fiscal.
The government has framed a new customs law to fight smuggling better. The new law will replace the existing Customs Act 1969 after passage in parliament.
Customs intelligence seized 365 kilograms of smuggled gold in fiscal 2014-15, down from 565 kilograms a year ago. It also seized illegally carried foreign currencies, prohibited medicines, electronics and mobile handsets in its drive to catch duty dodgers, according to customs intelligence data.
It said the state got additional revenue for its vigilance at various customs houses and stations and detection of commercial fraud.
