Tax returns filing may go online next year
Taxpayers are likely to be able to file and submit tax returns online next fiscal year -- a development that is expected to relieve people of the hassles of dealing with paperwork.
To put the system in place, the National Board of Revenue is expected to propose changes to the related sections of the finance bill in the upcoming budget to be placed on June 2.
Under the scheme, taxpayers will be able to submit returns online by using their tax payment receipt numbers or chalans.
The taxpayers will get acknowledgement receipts from the tax authority electronically, an NBR official said.
“We are currently piloting the online tax filing system and training field level officials.”
Taxmen said it would take some time to accommodate the income tax related changes in the software, based on the proposals in the budget for fiscal 2016-17. Currently, the NBR pilots online tax return filing based on changes brought in fiscal 2015-16.
The NBR took the initiative to introduce e-filing of tax returns in 2011 with financial assistance from the Asian Development Bank at a cost of Tk 78.98 crore. Of the amount, Tk 12.98 crore came from government funds.
The tax authority's initiative comes after it launched the online registration of taxpayer identification numbers or e-TINs in 2013.
About 20 lakh taxpayers, including companies, have signed up for e-TINs, according to the NBR.
Insiders said a data centre and data recovery centre have been already established at the Bangladesh Computer Council.
The NBR also distributed computer hardware among 649 field offices in 31 tax zones to make the offices paperless in early 2016. It also aims to bring all tax offices under a network so that their activities can be monitored.
Electronic filing of tax returns will increase accountability and transparency in the tax administration as it will reduce human interaction and ensure higher compliance.
The NBR hired FPT Information System, a Vietnamese firm, to develop the platform. The company will provide support services to the NBR from 2015 to 2018 so that the e-filing system runs smoothly.
The NBR said the online tax system will merge IT-based initiatives, such as online VAT administration and Customs' Asycuda World system, to enable taxmen to gather and exchange information among departments.
The tax administrator plans to develop the system in a way that will allow people to pay taxes by debit or credit card.