Digital VAT Disbursement Debuts as NBR Credits Tk 4.54m
The National Board of Revenue (NBR) has officially launched the e-VAT refund system, directly crediting Tk 4.535 million to the bank accounts of three taxpayers under three VAT commissionerates in Dhaka.
Out of 124 previously submitted refund applications, all procedural steps for four had already been completed earlier. As a result, refunds for three applicants were processed automatically through the system. Although the remaining applicants had completed all formalities, inaccuracies in their bank information prevented immediate disbursement.
The service was formally inaugurated on Wednesday morning (7 January) at the Revenue Building in Agargaon, Dhaka, by NBR Chairman Abdur Rahman Khan, aiming to eliminate long-standing hassles in VAT refund processing.
At the event, officials said that bank verification by Bangladesh Bank and commercial banks now takes only around 30 minutes, and this process will also be handled fully automatically.
Reacting to receiving the refund, Md Imran Hossain, Chief Financial Officer of Amber Group, said the newly introduced system is transparent, simple, and efficient. He expressed hope that NBR would continue adopting industry- and tax-friendly initiatives to ensure smoother business operations.
Speaking at the inauguration, NBR Chairman Abdur Rahman Khan said the existing manual refund process has been replicated in electronic form. He added that once the system is fully operational, legal amendments would be considered if further simplification becomes necessary.
In response to a query on outstanding refunds, the NBR chairman said that approximately Tk 4,000 crore remains pending in VAT and income tax refunds combined, with VAT refunds accounting for about Tk 1,500 crore. He noted that given NBR’s annual revenue collection of around Tk 400,000 crore, settling such refunds should not pose any difficulty.
To implement the e-VAT refund system, NBR has introduced a new refund module in the e-VAT platform. The system is integrated with the iBAS++ of the Finance Division and uses Bangladesh Bank’s BEFTN mechanism to transfer approved refund amounts directly to taxpayers’ designated bank accounts.
Under this process, taxpayers apply for refunds online through their monthly VAT returns. Once the relevant VAT commissionerate processes the application and verifies bank details, the approved amount is automatically transferred to the taxpayer’s bank account.
DBTech/BDTO/EK/OR
