NBR to develop e-tax return filing system with own resources
The National Board of Revenue (NBR) has made a decision to develop an online tax return filing system using its own resources in order that taxpayers can file their annual income statements easily.
The move employs the NBR placed its e-filing system -- the Bangladesh Integrated Tax Administration System (Bitax) -- for a technical audit amid allegations that the machine had not been user-friendly and didn't attain the desired goals.
The federal government, with finance from Asian Development Bank, took the initiative to facilitate online tax return submission in December 2011 so that you can increase tax collection and establish a competent, fairer and less corrupt tax system and improve public service delivery.
Eventually, the NBR hired Vietnam-based FPT Information System Corporation to build up the e-filing system.
The tax administration then introduced the e-filing facility in November 2016 with FPT Information scheduled to operate and keep maintaining Bitax for 3 years, until November 2019.
However, the much discussed online tax return filing venture, which cost $7.5 million, cannot attract taxpayers.
Some 2,700 taxation statements were submitted in fiscal 2019 whereas the quantity was over 6,000 in fiscal 2020.
The ratio of tax return filing through Bitax was 0.33 % of the 22 lakh returns submitted in fiscal 2019-20, according to the NBR.
"We will create a digital return filing system with our own resources and manpower," said Hafiz Ahmed Murshed, member (tax management and services) of the NBR.
"You want to complete developing the machine by February-March next year to ensure that taxpayers can furnish returns online from July another fiscal year," he said.
In a notice last week, the NBR formed a steering committee, headed by its Chairman Abu Hena Md Rahmatul Muneem, to monitor the overall progress in designing and implementing an online tax return filing system in a quickest possible time to facilitate electronic submission of returns.
In addition, it formed three teams to build up the application programming interface (API).
A team was formed to design the online return system, business process and applications as a part of its responsibility to build up the entire system, the notice said.
Murshed, also an associate secretary of the steering committee, said the system would be developed in ways such that all sorts of taxpayers, both individual and corporate, could submit returns electronically.
Asked about whether Bitax will be operated, he said the NBR wouldn't normally implement the machine now.
On if the initiative has been suspended, Murshed said it practically had been.
In July, the NBR at first considered renewing its contract with FPT for the procedure and maintenance of Bitax since it offered Tk 2,000 rebate to taxpayers to encourage e-filing from the ongoing fiscal.
The NBR later made a decision to perform a technical audit on the machine predicated on allegations over its lack of efficacy.
The tax authority wrote to the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology to handle the audit, Murshed said earlier.
Taxmen said a decision about the use of Bitax will be taken based on the findings of the technical audit.
Bangladesh has 55 lakh registered taxpayer identification number (TIN) holders as of this moment.
And aside from certain cases, all registered taxpayers will need to submit income statements irrespective of whether they have taxable income or not.
