NBR Plans to Mandate Online Tax Return Filing from Next Year
The National Board of Revenue (NBR) Chairman, Abdur Rahman Khan, has announced plans to make online income tax return filing mandatory for all individual taxpayers starting next year. To facilitate this transition, a dedicated mobile application will be developed soon. He made this statement on Sunday during a workshop held in Agargaon, Dhaka.
The workshop, titled "Identifying Problems in the Return System and Finding Solutions," was organized by the NBR at the Revenue Building as part of the preparatory steps toward implementing 100% online income tax return submission from the upcoming fiscal year.
Senior NBR officials, along with government employees, representatives from scheduled banks, and mobile service providers, attended the event. Additionally, representatives from Dhaka Taxes Bar Association, Bangladesh Tax Lawyers Association, The Institute of Cost and Management Accountants of Bangladesh (ICMAB), and The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Bangladesh (ICAB) were also present.
In his keynote speech, NBR Chairman Abdur Rahman Khan stated, “The number of e-returns has increased fivefold this year compared to last year, reaching nearly 1.5 million. Next year, we want to make it 100% mandatory. However, there will be some exceptions for those with valid reasons preventing them from filing online.”
He further emphasized the advantages of online filing, saying, “There is no alternative to filing returns online. It saves both time and money and eliminates stress. Since the system handles tax calculations automatically, taxpayers don’t need to worry about determining taxable income or applicable tax rates. They just need to provide their information, and the system will do the calculations.”
The chairman also stated that from July 1 next year, online tax returns will become more accessible. He assured that tax returns filed this year will be automatically stored in the system’s archive for long-term reference. Furthermore, an app will be developed, and from next year, corporate tax returns must also be filed online.
For reference, in the 2024-25 tax year, a total of 1,496,476 taxpayers submitted their income tax returns online, while 1,890,305 taxpayers registered for online return filing.
