The National Board of Revenue (NBR) has made it mandatory for specific categories of individual taxpayers to submit their tax returns online. This requirement applies to government employees, bankers, employees of mobile phone companies, and officials from six major companies under the jurisdiction of income tax circles in four city corporations.
According to a press release issued by NBR’s public relations officer, Syed A Mumen, on Tuesday, this special directive was introduced under the powers conferred by the Income Tax Act 2023. The directive mandates four types of individual taxpayers to file their tax returns electronically.
The first group includes all government employees under the jurisdiction of income tax circles located in Dhaka North, Dhaka South, Gazipur, and Narayanganj City Corporations. The second group consists of all officials and employees of scheduled banks. Thirdly, officers and employees of all mobile telecom service providers in the country are also required to submit their tax returns online.
Additionally, officials and employees of six major foreign companies are obligated to file their tax returns electronically. These companies include Unilever Bangladesh Limited, British American Tobacco Bangladesh Company Limited, Marico Bangladesh Limited, Berger Paints Bangladesh Limited, Bata Shoe Company (Bangladesh) Limited, and Nestle Bangladesh PLC.
This directive follows a meeting held on Monday between NBR officials and Chief Advisor Muhammad Yunus, where they discussed the implementation of digital technology in various administrative transactions to prevent corruption. During this meeting, it was decided that all government officials in the Greater Dhaka region must submit their income tax returns through the e-return portal.
Furthermore, large industrial groups are being encouraged to file their returns electronically. The NBR issued this special order a day after the meeting.
The NBR’s online return submission system was launched on September 9, 2024, with the aim of simplifying tax return filing and compliance for the 2024-25 tax year. By October 2, more than 50,000 e-returns had been submitted online. The government expects a total of one million taxpayers to file their tax returns online in the 2024-25 fiscal year.
Taxpayers can prepare and submit their returns online, and they can also pay their taxes using internet banking, debit and credit cards, or mobile banking services through the system. Additionally, copies of filed returns, acknowledgments, tax certificates, and tax identification numbers (TIN) can be downloaded and printed from the system.
