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Published : 29 Jun 2026, 02:44 AM
The National Revenue Board (NBR) has once again made the online submission of income tax returns mandatory for individual taxpayers in the new tax year.
According to a special order issued by the NBR on Sunday, certain categories of taxpayers will remain exempt from this mandatory requirement.
These include foreign nationals working in Bangladesh, taxpayers aged 65 or above, physically challenged individuals or those with special needs, Bangladeshi taxpayers residing abroad, and legal representatives of dead taxpayers.
However, individuals within these exempted categories retain the option to file their returns online voluntarily.
The NBR has also maintained a provision allowing manual return submissions under specific circumstances.
If a taxpayer is unable to file online due to e-return system registration issues or other technical glitches, they may submit a manual return, subject to obtaining formal approval from the authorities.
The new tax year commences on Jul 1, during which taxpayers must submit returns based on their income from the current financial year (running from July last year to June this year).
Under new proposals introduced for individual taxpayers, tax returns can now be submitted throughout the year, with the government offering a financial incentive for submissions made during the first quarter.
This adjustment was introduced through amendments to the Income Tax Act via the Finance Bill.
Under the proposal, taxpayers who file "early" from Jul 1 to Sep 30 will receive a 5 percent rebate on their payable tax, capped at a maximum of Tk 25,000.
The Finance Bill, however, did not outline specific details on how this incentive will be processed, prompting concerns from tax analysts over its implementation.
Individual taxpayers who file during the second quarter, from Oct 1 to Dec 31, will not receive any financial rebate. However, they will not have to pay any additional tax either.
If they file during the third quarter, from Jan 1 to Mar 31, they will have to pay a penalty for filing a late return. The penalty will be 2 percent of the tax amount or a maximum of Tk 3,000.
For returns submitted during the final quarter, from Apr 1 to Jun 30, the penalty will be 5 percent of the tax amount or a maximum of Tk 5,000.
As per the existing legal framework, individual taxpayers are permitted to file their returns under standard procedures until Nov 30 without facing additional tax burdens.
The current system offers no such financial incentives for early submissions.
