NBR issues notice to Ctg chamber to pay overdue taxes
Legal action will begin if no resolution is offered with the declared 22 day limit
The Chattogram Tax Zone-1 of the National Board of Revenue (NBR) has issued a notice to the Chattogram Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI) over unpaid income tax.
The 117-year-old trade body has not been paying income tax despite registering taxable income, said tax officials.
The notice was issued on 12 October, demanding income taxes to be filed within 22 days.
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It stated that the CCCI has failed to file income tax returns for fiscal years 2020-21, 2021-22 and 2022-23.
Deputy Tax Commissioner Gobinda Chandra Das said the CCCI earns crores of taka every year from renting space in their buildings and the chamber house, as well as trade fairs and fixed deposits with banks.
"But they have not filed any income tax returns till now," he added.
He further said the organisation just registered for a Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN) on 16 January last year.
"We have issued notices to them to pay taxes as per directives of senior officials of the zone," he said.
Meanwhile, Engineer Mohammad Farque, secretary (in-charge) of the CCCI, told The Business Standard, "We are committed to paying tax following the government directives".
He also mentioned that since 2013 trade organisations have had to pay taxes on their incomes, earlier all income was tax exempted.
Tk3.13 crore tax in 3 fiscal years
According to the chamber's audit report, its interest and miscellaneous income from FDRs was taxed around Tk3.13 crore over the past three years, with an average of Tk1 crore per fiscal year.
The audit report also shows that the income tax for these three years has been set aside as a provision (accumulated fund), but it does not disclose how much the income tax provision was in previous years.
The CCCI is evading tax by not submitting income tax returns, even though the audit report shows that provision is made for income tax each year. According to the rules, income tax returns must be filed within six months of the closing of annual accounts.
According to the audit report, the CCCI has around Tk69.24 crore in FDRs in 28 banks. Of those, NCC Bank has Tk14 crore in FDRs from the chamber at its Dhaka's Elephant Road and Moghbazar branches and Feni's Mohipal branch.
