Automation to enhance tax collection: DCCI president

Automation of tax collection will ease the taxpayers' hassles while filing income tax returns and also increase the overall tax collection by the National Board of Revenue (NBR), Md Sameer Sattar, president of Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI), said today.

At a workshop on "Personal Income Tax and Tax Return" organised by DCCI on Tuesday (21 November), he said, "The new Income Tax Act  introduced several taxpayer-friendly changes, including reducing the number of required reports from 29 to 12, simplifying the loss adjustment rules, and implementing a self-assessment method." 

He opined that people should be aware of this new Act. The workshop would help the participants to understand different aspects of the act in detail, which would help businesses to be more compliant.

Snehasish Barua, director of SMAC IT Limited, in his presentation, focused on various aspects of personal income tax payment and guided about how to calculate their income tax properly and submit them accurately.

Snehasish, also the adviser of Customs VAT, Income Tax, and NBR-related Standing Committee of DCCI,  highlighted return submission procedures, refund guidelines, perquisite, share-based payment, admissible deduction, income from a business, income from rent, income from capital gain, financial assets, surcharge issues, tax liability, delay filling, etc. 

Md Iqbal Hossain, member of Taxes Appeal and Exemption of NBR, said the new act aims to simplify the tax return process, making it more convenient for taxpayers. However, as this is a new law, there is a need for increased awareness among taxpayers to ensure its smooth implementation.

Through implementing automation, the Tax Department is trying to establish a relationship of trust and confidence between taxpayers and tax collectors, he added. 

Mohammad Humayun Kabir, former president of The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Bangladesh, stressed increasing the tax net for more revenue collection. 

"NBR is considering bringing the informal sector into the mainstream of the economy in order to widen the tax net in the country. The NBR believes that a reasonable tax rate and an easier tax submission process will encourage people in the informal sector to pay taxes willingly, he added. 

B N Dulal, president of Dhaka Taxes Bar Association, said the tax return submission process has become significantly streamlined in recent years, with taxpayers now able to file their own income tax returns through e-Return, an online platform introduced by the NBR.

Despite this advancement, some taxpayers still face challenges when filing their returns online due to a lack of comprehensive guidelines. Implementing year-round public awareness campaigns would significantly enhance taxpayer understanding of this process, he added.