Tax return submission in one minute

Highlights

• Return submission must for TIN holders
• Filing deadline 30 November
• One-page return form introduced
• Tax payable thru bKash, Rocket, Nagad, UCash, alongside banks
• Mini Tax Fair at every tax office
• Tax offices offering one-stop services
• Country has 46 lakh e-TIN holders
  

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In an unprecedented move, the National Board of Revenue (NBR) has offered taxpayers a facility to submit their returns in just one minute after filling up the forms.

Tax officials are also giving the initial check on and the receipt of the one-page return to taxpayers within this short time.

Income tax officials are providing all tax related services, including filling up return forms, paying taxes through banks and mobile banking, notifying one about one's tax information through barcode scanner and providing new e-TIN in a short time.

Dhaka Tax Area-12 has taken such an initiative to provide harassment-free services to taxpayers in accepting returns for the 2020-21 tax year. The income tax office is providing the services under the banner of "Mini Tax Fair" by setting up special booths on its premises as the Income Tax Fair is closed after a decade due to Covid-19.

Md Abdul Majid, the commissioner of Tax Area-12, said all kinds of services are being provided in these mini fairs.

Taxpayers are getting all the services in a fast time without any hassle by filling up forms and submitting returns. It is no different from the original income tax fair, except for receiving services while maintaining physical distance to prevent Covid infection, he also said.

Like the Tax Area-12, all 31 tax areas of the NBR across the country are providing one-stop services. Although there is no system to submit returns online, the tax return form is available on the organisation's website. The return can be filed any day till 30 November.

About 46 lakh e-TIN holders till 30 June will have to file income tax returns within this period. However, the NBR has made arrangements for low-income people to file returns in only one page.

Low-earning taxpayers need not give much information but include the taxpayers' photo, name, tax identification number (TIN), tax region and circle, current and permanent address, the amount of taxable income and tax, the amount of assets and the income source.

In addition, they will have to write the number of the bank invoice through which they are paying tax.

However, if taxpayers have a car or a house or flat in the city corporation areas although their annual income is less than Tk4 lakh or the assets are worth less than Tk40 lakh, the one-page form is not applicable for them. They will have to fill up and submit the tax return in the old format.

Hafiz Murshed, a member of the NBR's income tax wing, said this is the first time a one-page form has been introduced, instead of an 8-12 pages, which has reduced hassles for low-income people.

As per the Income Tax Act, every e-TIN holder is required to file a return before the Income Tax Day on 30 November.

The NBR has been organising income tax fairs across the country since 1 November 2010 to help taxpayers file returns in the fastest time and without harassment.

More than 60% of the returns received by the NBR are collected through these fairs. Due to pandemic this year, the revenue authority could not organise the fairs this time. However, each tax area has been decorated as a mini tax fair.

Visiting different tax areas of Dhaka yesterday, this correspondent observed special booths have been set up in the yards of each office. Separate booths have also been set up in officials' rooms for return submission, e-TIN services and banking consultancy.

Arrangements have been made to pay taxes through 6 mobile banking services, including bKash, Rocket, Nagad and UCash. The income tax offices are also offering facilities to print bank invoices after paying tax through mobile banking at home. They are also providing return forms, invoice forms, income tax circulars and guidelines free of cost.

Covid resistant glass has been installed in the booths to avoid physical contacts with the service recipients and officials. Leaflets, instructing having facemasks compulsorily, have been pasted in front of the booths. There are handwashing and sanitising facilities too.

The Tax Area-10 in the capital's Segunbagicha was found to have been decorated aesthetically. Six return acceptance booths have been set up in front of the tax office. Taxpayers under 22 circles of this tax zone are able to file returns in these booths.

Priyanka Chakraborty, a former government official who came to this area to file her return, expressed her satisfaction over hassle-free services.

"I pay income tax at the fair every year. This time, the fair has not been organised. I came to file the return much early as there may be a crowd later. All the facilities of the fair are also available in this tax area. I was able to submit the return without any harassment."

The NBR organised the income tax fair at first in 2010. Although there was not much response in the beginning, the fair became popular over time among the individual taxpayers. Every year, a large number of taxpayers submit returns in the fair.

The fair, initially held in Dhaka and Chattogram, gradually spread to all over the country. Last year, the income tax fair was organised for 7 days at the divisional level, 4 days at the district level and also at the upazila level.

The NBR collected Tk2,613 crore in income tax from those fairs. In total, 6.55 lakh taxpayers submitted returns while nearly 19 lakh people received services.