NBR looking into Evaly’s tax records

The National Board of Revenue has opened an investigation to find out whether e-commerce platform Evaly has dodged income tax, according to a senior official of the NBR.

"We are working on it," said the official, who is a member of the NBR's Central Intelligence Cell (CIC), on condition of anonymity yesterday.

The NBR decided to look into Evaly's tax compliance records following a recommendation from the commerce ministry last month.

The ministry also said that it received complaints of anti-consumer rights practices against the e-commerce platform. It carried out a primary investigation into the company. 

The commerce ministry wanted a closer examination of the company's tax payment records after it found that Evaly's paid-up capital was Tk 5 lakh when it was registered with the Registrar of Joint Stock Companies and Firms in 2018. The paid-up capital grew to Tk 1 crore as of February this year, according to a document from the ministry.

The NBR was asked to check if Evaly is compliant with the country's income tax laws and informed the ministry of its findings.

As such, the CIC asked Evaly to submit its business model, transaction, accounting procedure and income tax payment records.

The cell also directed Evaly Managing Director Mohammad Rassel to appear for a hearing on Tuesday, which he duly attended, the official said.

The e-commerce company submitted its income tax returns for the years 2018-19 and 2019-20, according to the NBR.

Earlier this month, the NBR sought the account information of Evaly Chairman Shamima Nasrin and the managing director from their banks.

"We are yet to receive any information on their banking accounts or transaction history," said anther tax official.

In August, the Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit froze the bank accounts of Rassel and Nasrin following reports of over-charging by the company and allegations of rampant delays in product delivery even after taking money from customers.

Rassel was not available for comments.