Glitch halts online tax return submission to NBR

The submission of online income-tax returns has come to a halt this year due to a technical glitch.

Officials said revival of the electronic system is uncertain this tax year, especially within the deadline for submission of individual tax returns.

The National Board of Revenue (NBR) has made a move to overhaul the system introduced in November 2016.

They, however, acknowledged that the system has remained shut to detect problems following complaints from different quarters that it is not user-friendly.

Individual taxpayers claimed they cannot access the online system to submit their tax returns.

The deadline for submission of tax returns by taxpayers is scheduled to expire on November 30, 2020.

Officials said all individual taxpayers need to submit tax returns manually this year for a technical hiccup.

Sources said an online submission system was crucial this year as there will be no tax fair due to the spread of COVID-19 pandemic countrywide.

NBR member (tax information management and services) Hafiz Ahmed Murshed, who also heads a committee on this issue, said it is uncertain whether taxpayers can submit returns online.

There will be an audit of the system to find loopholes as per the NBR chairman's instruction, he said.

Mr Murshed said Vietnamese contractor FPT, who developed the system, has handed over the online tax-return module to the NBR.

Earlier, it was alleged that the FPT is not handing over the system to the revenue board. For technical issues, he said, the NBR sometimes sought the firm's support even after handing over the system.

The NBR developed the module with funds from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) under a project.

However, the online tax-return system gets poor response from taxpayers due to its faulty nature.

Only 7,209 (0.33 percent) of 2.2-million filers submitted returns online in fiscal year 2019-2020, according to a recent ADB report.

The report also said only 13,895 taxpayers filed tax returns online in the previous four tax assessment years between fiscal year 2016 and 2019.

In a completion report of the project styled 'Strengthening Governance Management Project,' the ADB said the project is less efficient and suffered a four-year-and-six-month delay in implementation.

It was taken in 2010 with a cost of $30.3 million with a $25-million ADB loan to automate tax and land administrations.

The scheme was implemented in June 2018, although it is supposed to complete in December 2013.

The cost of the project was lower at $20.5 million, including the ADB finance worth $17.455 million.

Of the amount, the NBR spent $7.5 million to introduce online return-submission system under the Bangladesh Integrated Tax Administration System (BITAX).

In the current budget, the government incorporated a new provision of Tk 2000 tax rebate for new taxpayers who will submit returns for the first time virtually.

The new taxpayers will not be able to avail the opportunity as the online tax-return system is not available. Earlier, the NBR formed a seven-member committee to look into the problems of the BITAX system and suggest ways to resolve those.