A two-month extension on submitting returns without penalty has powered a nearly 17% jump in submissions
Published : 01 Feb 2024, 10:29 PM
The two-month extension has increased the number of income tax return submissions and also 'significantly' increased the tax revenue collection, officials from the National Board of Revenue say.
More than 3.5 million taxpayers have filed income tax returns for the 2022-23 tax year, an increase of 500,000 year-on-year.
However, it is still far less than the total number of Tax Identification Numbers (TINs). Only 36.49 percent of the slightly more than 9.7 million TIN holders have submitted returns.
However, the amount of return submissions has increased by about 17 percent compared with the previous tax year.
According to preliminary calculations by the NBR’s Income Tax Coordination Division, a total of more than 3.5 million income tax returns have been submitted as of Wednesday.
It is a jump of 511,745 or 16.9 percent year-on-year. Approximately 3.03 million returns were submitted as of Jan 31 in the 2022-23 fiscal year.
This year, returns for the 2022-23 tax year could be submitted until Jan 31 without penalty.
The Nov 30 deadline for tax return submissions without incurring a penalty was extended this time due to special considerations.
Taking into account the general economic situation and the general election, the period for submissions was extended by two months till Jan 31 at the request of FBCCI, the country’s apex trade organisation.
The decision had a positive impact on revenue collection, which has seen a growth of around 16 percent.
There have been significant increases in the filing of returns for several years, said NBR Member (Tax Administration and Human Resource Management) Syed Mohammad Abu Daud.
At the same time, revenue collection from the income tax sector is also increasing, he said. This is the result of NBR's continuous activities to increase revenue generation.
"I am especially optimistic about the growth of over 16 percent from the income tax sector," he said regarding the latest round of returns.
According to the preliminary information available at the end of the extended period of return filing, the amount of revenue collected has increased to Tk 58 billion with the additional returns submitted.
In the 2021-22 fiscal year, about Tk 48.99 billion was collected from income taxes. This means that there has been a jump of about Tk 9 billion year-on-year, or 18.37 percent.
This count is for all tax returns submitted and tax revenue collected as of Jan 31. Taxpayers can still submit returns subject to some conditions, including penalties.
Several other issues, including whether it is a person’s first time submitting taxes, will also be taken into consideration.
First time taxpayers can submit their statements without a penalty until Jun 30.