NBR collects Tk 566cr as it celebrates Halkhata festival

For the first time yesterday, taxmen celebrated the centuries-old tradition of 'Halkhata' on the eve of the Bengali New Year to encourage taxpayers to clear their dues and be compliant.

The total amount of tax collected yesterday was Tk 566 crore, with income tax accounting for Tk 306 crore, customs duties Tk 207 crore and value added tax Tk 53 crore.

The National Board of Revenue (NBR) welcomed taxpayers with sweets and traditional snacks at its field offices that were decorated to infuse a festive mood into both the taxpayers and taxmen. It celebrated the last day of the just concluded Bangla calendar year termed the Chaitra Sankranti.

“The response from taxpayers has been good. I expect the NBR to continue this ceremony so it becomes a part of the revenue culture,” said Md Abdur Razzaque, member of the NBR.

Halkhata is a festival celebrated by Bengali shopkeepers and traders on Pahela Baishakh by opening a new ledger.

“By holding the traditional ceremony, we want to create a culture where taxpayers will spontaneously come up to pay up tax arrears. We want to build a relation of confidence with them and break the perception of fear regarding tax offices,” said Md Alamgir Hossain, commissioner of the Large Taxpayers Unit (LTU) of income tax, at a discussion.

The LTU income tax organised the discussion as part of the halkhata celebrations, which focuses on the voluntary payment of arrears instead of realisation through other measures, such as freezing bank accounts.

Yesterday, the LTU, which deals with tax matters of 1,141 high tax paying individuals and entities, received Tk 29 crore as arrears and advance taxes, particularly from banks and insurance companies.

The NBR's field offices collected nearly Tk 300 crore as arrear taxes, out of the Tk 550 crore due until March this fiscal year.

Taxmen said the main objective of introducing the halkhata was not to collect taxes on the day but to create awareness among people and motivate taxpayers to regularly deposit taxes.

Abdul Matlub Ahmad, president of the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry, said this initiative will reduce the gap between the NBR and taxpayers. “We welcome this new initiative. We think it will build a relation of trust among us all.”

He said taxpayers' fear of harassment has gone down in recent years because of a large number of NBR initiatives such as tax fairs. Md Lutful Azeem, additional commissioner of the Tax Zone-1, said haal khata is a long standing culture of the Bengali people where businesses welcome their clients with sweets.

“Now we are celebrating the tradition and are welcoming taxpayers to encourage them to deposit arrears amid the festivities.”

The LTU VAT, which deals with big firms like mobile phone operators, multinationals, banks and insurance, received more than Tk 10.65 crore until yesterday afternoon.

Matiur Rahman, commissioner of the LTU VAT, said the field offices sat with company secretaries and chief financial officers of 30 firms to encourage them to settle tax related disputes through out of court settlement or the alternative dispute resolution (ADR).

These companies generate 40 percent of VAT collected in a year and account for 75 percent of tax related arrears and VAT related disputes with the LTU VAT, he added.

Rahman said the LTU VAT aims to settles cases involving Tk 296 crore through the ADR by June. It has already settled 13 cases involving Tk 22 crore.