The National Board of Revenue (NBR) recorded 17 percent growth in tax collection in the eight months through February from a year ago.
Revenue receipts rose to Tk 53,855 crore in July-February from Tk 45,838 crore in the same period a year ago, according to NBR data. The latest receipt was higher than NBR's collection target for Tk 53,346 crore until February.
Buoyancy in income tax receipts as well as improvements in the collection of customs duty and VAT (value added tax) allowed the tax administration to register figures higher than target for the period, data shows.
NBR Chairman Nasiruddin Ahmed linked growth in revenue receipts to the tax collector's efforts, including formation of two taskforces to prevent tax-dodging.
Last week, the tax administration increased taxes on 71 imported items temporarily for three months to June 30, to ease pressure on the foreign exchange reserve and enhance revenue earnings.
The duty has been hiked on items such as refrigerators, juice, biscuits, ready-made garments and motorcycle parts.
The tax hike came two weeks after NBR launched the alternative dispute resolution system to settle tax-related cases out of court, in a bid to accelerate the pace of tax collection. Ahmed expects NBR to attain its full-year target of Tk 91,870 crore.