The National Board of Revenue (NBR) plans to collect around Tk5,600 crore income taxes by introducing a number of initiatives including automation, increased surveillance and monitoring.
Along with the automation, the board has also decided to focus on collection of the unpaid tax, which remains pending for years creating backlog in government’s revenue mobilisation, NBR officials told the Dhaka Tribune yesterday.
If properly enforced, the plan can help the NBR to collect around Tk5,596 crore from the income tax wing, they added, citing NBR estimation.
According to the NBR plan, from now on, the authority will work for improving its service delivery system, and emphasise automation, auditing of tax files, transfer pricing cell, forensic intelligence and in Alternative Dispute Resolution.
Officials said the NBR modernisation plan aims to reach a tax-GDP ratio of 13% and to reduce the tax cases in the courts by 80% by 2016.
It also expects to provide exemplary customer service to all taxpayers through web enabled tax administration from e-registration, e-filing of tax returns to e-payments by 2016.
The current manual paper-based work environment is not adequate to deliver the ambitious service and compliance improvement goals, which creates hindrances for the tax authority to fulfill its revenue outcome, added officials.
Under its automation plan, the NBR will install integrated revenue management program which will include setting up of an NBR data center, centralised processing center for income tax returns, tax information network and will install an integrated tax administration software that would help tax officials perform their functions in a computerised environment.
With its enforcement improvement programmes, the board will focus on improving its tax compliance through better audits, better investigation including combating international tax evasion, improving collection of tax arrears and addressing taxpayer grievances through quick disposal of tax appeals including alternative dispute resolution (ADR) mechanism.
The forensic lab will detect tax evasions and other financial crimes by corporate houses that may hide and manipulate financial records maintained electronically during the Transfer Pricing Cell of the body, will unearth the tax evasion and money laundering by Multinational Companies.
