NBR relaxes rules for reporting on source tax

The tax administrator has relaxed the rules of reporting on deduction of source tax for companies, non-governmental organisations and cooperatives.

They can now report on deduction of different kinds of source tax to the field office in which they submit their income tax returns.

Previously, they had to visit various tax zones for different heads of source tax, due to which taxpaying companies had to face difficulties in complying with the rule, the NBR said in a statement.  The 57 heads of income listed by the tax administrator include income from supply of goods, interest earnings on savings instruments or deposits, commissions, import and income from property rents.

For example, companies had to report to tax zone 2 for withholding tax deduction during payment to supplier, while for deduction of advance income tax for house rent payment they had to visit tax zone 7, said a senior official of NBR.

The NBR said the ease of the rule will cut down the hassles for companies to deduct and pay source tax to the state coffer. Source tax is an important source of revenue, said NBR Chairman Md Nojibur Rahman, adding that its payment will now be easier after the revision in jurisdiction for them.

The NBR is yet to make available the latest data on total withholding income tax collection. The tax administrator logged in Tk 24,893 crore as withholding tax in fiscal 2013-14, when the total income tax collection stood at Tk 43,848 crore, according to the NBR's annual report.