The National Board of Revenue (NBR) is likely to empower the director general and commissioner of its inspection wing to authorise the assistant commissioners or assistant directors to search and seize enterprises, premises, houses and vehicles owned by VAT dodgers.
The revenue authorities, in the new Value Added Tax and Supplementary Duty Act 2012, is scheduled to empower such top rank officials of Central Intelligence Cell and VAT Audit, Intelligence and Investigation directorate to bring ease in the bureaucratic procedures.
An official, not below the rank of assistant commissioner or assistant director, can now request the commissioners to find out possible VAT dodgers and the high officials can approve those requests, according to NBR’s proposal that has been included in the new law.
The new VAT law is scheduled to come into effect from July 1.
If the change is not made, it will keep slowing down the assistant commissioners in identifying VAT dodgers, the NBR has argued.
Finance Minister AMA Muhith is expected to approve the revisions of the law before its vetting by the Law Ministry.
Currently, the assistant commissioner level officials can request commissioners of Customs, Excise and VAT commissionerate, but the officials from these two wings are not allowed to do so yet despite their major contribution in generating revenue.
With major focus in automation, the NBR in 2012 established VAT Online Project to boost revenue from both businesses and consumers end.
In 2017-18 fiscal year, the NBR may get a target of Tk87,887 crore, up by 33.16% from the revised target of outgoing FY16-17, from the VAT wing.
This year, the NBR was assigned to mobilise Tk74,114 crore, however, the government had revised the target at Tk66,000 crore recently.
As of now, the NBR mobilised Tk52,842 crore till April which is 18.40% higher than the same period of last fiscal year. In the FY2015-16, it was Tk44,631 crore.
Friday, March 21, 2025
