The National Board of Revenue (NBR) has formed a technical committee to take over the automated Value Added Tax (VAT) online system from a Vietnamese company after expiry of its contract.
The panel will monitor progress of iVAS (integrated VAT Administration System) and will assist in its modification to make it business-friendly.
After the new VAT law kicks in July, the iVAS will gradually be handed over to a technical team of systems analysts, programmers and senior officials of VAT wing.
On 16 September, 2015, the NBR signed an agreement with the FPT Information Systems to rope the system in VAT online Project (VoP).
VoP Deputy Project Director Syed Mushfequr Rahman said a technical committee has been formed to prepare NBR staff for running the system after the contract ends.
As per the contract, the FPT will lend support to the VoP for the next five years after implementation of the new VAT law, he told the FE on Saturday.
"Technical know-how will be transferred to the NBR technical team after the new law comes into force," Mr Rahman continued.
He said some modifications in the VAT online system have been done after the deferment of its implementation in 2017.
Mr Rahman said the NBR is hopeful of introducing the new VAT law from July 01, 2019 by amending some provisions.
The new law will replace the existing VAT law 1991.
Multiple VAT rates will be incorporated in the online system instead of a single rate of 15 per cent in the new law.
In an office order on January 31, the NBR set a five-point task for the technical committee.
The committee, led by the NBR systems manager, will also monitor database management and networking maintenance by the FPT.
It will also take necessary steps to set up e-payment system to be interlinked with the Bangladesh Bank (BB).
Under the agreement, the Vietnam-based firm has been assigned to purchase IVAS software and necessary hardware.
It will develop networking with all VAT offices to connect the overall VAT administration under a single platform.
In 2012, parliament passed the VAT and Supplementary Duty Act to automate the VAT administration.
A year later in 2013, the NBR started the VoP to ensure a business-friendly and a service-oriented automated system.
According to NBR officials, it is necessary to monitor the activity of software developer and be a part of the process.
It has been found that some NBR automation initiatives, including Income Tax Management System (ITMS), remained unsuccessful for a lack of pushes to transfer technical know-how.
Neither NBR's IT team nor officials of the department concerned prepared themselves to run the programme during its implementation period, officials said.
After expiry of the contract with software programmers, the Large Taxpayers Unit under the income tax wing failed to decode the ITMS programme to maintain taxpayers' database.
VAT officials said the fate of the iVAS system would not be like that as the NBR is well-equipped to take over the system.
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