Tax, fee payment becomes easier
The finance ministry yesterday rolled out an automated system for depositing tax and government fees, in a step that would lessen the hassles faced by taxpayers and service-seekers and ensure immediate deposit of funds at the state coffer.
Initially, individual and corporate taxpayers registered under the Tax Zone-4 would use the automated treasury challan system to deposit taxes.
The scope will be expanded gradually to other field offices of the tax administration after the successful completion of the piloting, said officials of the finance ministry.
It has been introduced to lessen the hassle faced by taxpayers and other service-seekers while making the deposits through the existing manual procedures, reduce the tendency of dodging revenues through submission of fake challans and ensure the receipts of revenues without delay, the ministry said.
Abu Hena Md Rahmatul Muneem, senior secretary of the Internal Resources Division and chairman of the National Board of Revenue and Abdur Rouf Talukder, finance secretary, jointly inaugurated the system virtually.
After the completion of the piloting, taxpayers under other tax zones and service-seekers would pay taxes and fees through the electronic method.
Besides, people will be able to pay fees for other services such as passport through branches of four state-owned commercial banks -- Sonali, Rupali, Janata and Agrani -- in Dhaka city.
The branches of all other commercial banks in Dhaka city will come under the automated system in the second phase.
In the third phase, people will be able to pay taxes and fees through branches outside Dhaka. People would also be able to deposit taxes and fees through online banking and mobile financial services.
Currently, one can deposit money to the state treasury through nine branches of the central bank and 1,224 branches of Sonali Bank.
A finance ministry official said the government would get revenue without any delay because of the introduction of automated challan system.
Currently, it takes time for the tax and non-tax revenue to come to the treasury. The delay forces the government to borrow from banks and non-banking sources to meet state expenses.
The automated challan system will help save Tk 5,000 crore to Tk 10,000 crore, said the official.
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