NGOs under NBR scanner

The tax authority has taken steps to ensure compliance by the non-governmental organisations after it recently discovered that more than half of them in Dhaka do not even have tax files.

The tax zone-5 office of the National Board of Revenue found that 961 NGOs are registered with the NGO Affairs Bureau but only 488 have tax files.

"This is a huge gap," said Mohammed Masud, additional commissioner of tax zone-5, adding that letters are being sent to NGOs registered in the capital asking them to get the Taxpayer's Identification Number (TIN).

The NGOs are required to submit returns regularly and tax is payable if an organisation has income other than from microcredit operations.

Whether an NGO has taxable income or not will be examined after ensuring that all have TINs, Masud said.

There are 2,580 registered NGOs and 1,600 are in operation, according to Md Shahadat Hossain, acting director general of NGO Affairs Bureau.

"We are realising 15 percent VAT from the NGOs. We will ask them to comply with the NBR's directive in this regard," he added.

Md Abdur Razzak, NBR's member for tax administration, said the tax authority will next check if the NGOs registered outside Dhaka have tax files.

"All the NGOs will be brought under tax compliance."