NBR launches automated withholding tax system

The National Board of Revenue (NBR) today launched an automated system to enable public and private agencies deduct and deposit tax at source without taking trouble of doing the job manually.

Tax deducted at source or withholding tax accounts for 60 per cent of total income tax collection and the NBR collects tax at source from from 53 heads, for instance tax on interest income of depositors, source tax on export proceeds of exporters.

And nearly 3 lakh public and private agencies are responsible for deducting the taxes from these sources of incomes and deposit the money to the state coffer.

As the task of deduction and monitoring is time-consuming for the deducting authorities, the NBR said the automated system will ease the process.

As a result of automation of source tax collection system, scope of tax evasion wil reduce, said the NBR at the launch of the electronic Tax Deducted at Source (eTDS) system, developed by a 21-member team of the NBR.

At the event, Comptroller and Auditor General of Bangladesh Mohammad Muslim Chowdhury expected that automation would increase collection of the TDS to 85 per cent of total income tax collection from present 60 per cent with the next couple of years.

The NBR collected Tk 85,224 crore in income tax in the fiscal year 2020-21 and TDS brought 60 per cent of the total.

Refund process also has to be made automatic and seamless, he said at the

inauguration of the system at the NBR headquarters in Dhaka.

Senior Secretary of Finance Division Abdur Rouf Talukder and NBR Chairman Abu Hena Md Rahmatul Muneem and senior officials of tax administration were present.