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In the past three years, many taxpayers have filed their income tax returns online, but this time they must do it the traditional way.
Since November was the last date to file income tax, many people tried but could not open the online refund deposit link from the National Income Tax Board (NBR).
When asked about this on Wednesday, NBR member Hafiz Ahmed Murshed told bdnews24.com, “No one will be able to send returns online this time.”
When asked why, he said: “The software for submitting online returns was created by a software company called FPT Information Systems Corporation of Vietnam. But the online return deposit link is closed because the contract with them has expired. Then the taxpayers cannot pay the declaration ”.
NBR officials cannot say for sure when taxpayers will get this opportunity again.
Murshed said: “We are already thinking about signing a new agreement with the Vietnamese company. If there is no new agreement, there is no opportunity to submit the statement online. “
However, less than two months into the current season (October and November) the link is likely to be relaunched, he said.
“No more taxpayers will be able to file their returns online this time.”
According to the Income Tax Ordinance, the last date for filing income tax returns each year is November 30.
The NBR started taking income tax online a few years ago to make it easier to see the response of citizens to paying income tax in recent years. A project was also implemented at a cost of Tk 51 crore.
The NBR also took several initiatives to increase taxpayer interest in filing returns online.
Budget 2020-21: digital transformation reaches the income tax department
If the new contributor returns online, a discount of Rs
In the current fiscal year 2020-21 budget, for the first time, a tax exemption of Tk 2,000 was announced for online filing. But in reality, taxpayers can’t take advantage of that tax-exempt opportunity. The budget announcement was screwed up this time.
In November 2016, the then Finance Minister, Abul Maal Abdul Muhith, opened the online presentation by presenting his statement.
NBR officials said not many income tax returns were submitted online that year. The next three years (fiscal years 2016-17, 2018-19, and 2019-20) didn’t see much of a response.
Approximately 5,000 taxpayers have filed their returns online in fiscal year 2016-17. In fiscal year 2018-19, the number increased to 5,748. In the last fiscal year 2019-20, 6,208 people have taken advantage of this opportunity.
On average, 22 to 23 lakh taxpayers file income tax returns each year. As such, online deposits are less than 1 percent.
This time the tax is not equal
Due to the epidemic, the NBR cannot make a fair income tax this time. Meanwhile, the opportunity to submit returns online was also closed.
Speaking at bdnews24.com, Ahsan H. Mansoor, Executive Director of the Policy Research Institute (PRI), told bdnews24.com: This cannot be accepted. In this age of modern information technology, we do not understand whether we are moving forward or backward.
“People’s money was spent, but the taxpayers didn’t get the service. When the software was created, why weren’t tax officials involved?”
Ahsan Mansoor thinks NBR officials are less interested in collecting income taxes online.
“The situation is such that the NBR cannot keep the software running after the Vietnamese company leaves,” he said. A good initiative is doomed to failure.
“Even an NBR automation project has not yielded results. There is less interest in automation among NBR officials. They want to stay the traditional way, as there are opportunities for unethical transactions. “
The economist believes that the upper echelons of government should think about the issue.
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