NBR chief hints at extending tax return filing deadline

The National Board of Revenue (NBR) chief today dropped a hint that the deadline for filing tax returns might be extended beyond 30 November depending on progress and discussions with policymakers.

"We haven't considered an extension yet. We will first assess how many returns are submitted," NBR Chairman Md Abdur Rahman Khan said during a press briefing at its headquarters in Dhaka.

"Since we were away from normal operations during the July-August uprising, there were some hiccups. We will discuss this with the policymakers, and if they agree, the deadline may be extended. However, it is impossible to predict that."

The final date for tax return submission is 30 November. Under the current income tax law, taxpayers who fail to submit their returns by this deadline must pay penalties and interest charges.

However, extending the deadline each year has become almost routine. Last year, the NBR extended the tax submission deadline by an additional two months.

According to the Income Tax Act, taxpayers who miss the submission deadline face various penalties, including a 10% late fee, a monthly 2% interest charge on payable tax, and the loss of tax rebates and exemptions.

The NBR organised the press briefing to announce the launch of a nationwide "Taxpayer Information and Service Month."

The chairman mentioned that 869 tax circle offices across 41 income tax zones are ready to assist taxpayers with return submissions until 30 November. These offices also offer services such as online TIN registration, return filing, and e-payments through automated challans.

Khan highlighted that this year, the NBR is prioritising online tax return submissions, which have been simplified compared to previous processes.

This year, the NBR has mandated tax return submissions for government employees within the Dhaka, Gazipur, and Narayanganj City Corporations, as well as for certain employees in large companies.

He stated, "Our plan is to fully transition away from manual tax returns in the future, and we are moving toward that goal."

Currently, there are 1.05 crore TIN holders, but only around 40 lakh filed their tax returns last year, with 5 lakh filing through the online system.

Khan shared that as of November 3 this year, over 177,000 returns have been submitted online.

He added that after filing online, taxpayers can easily download acknowledgement slips, tax certificates, TIN certificates, and copies of submitted returns.

The NBR is hopeful that online submissions will exceed 15 lakh. Taxpayers can use internet banking, card payments, or mobile banking to pay their taxes.