The National Board of Revenue (NBR) has initiated a move to track down owners of land, flats and buildings across the country in an effort to widen the country's tax net, reports UNB.
The move comes as more than two-thirds of individuals submitting income tax returns report earnings below the taxable threshold of Tk 350,000, according to NBR data.
As per the law, people with annual income below this threshold are exempt from paying income tax.
Currently, the number of Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN) holders in the country stands at over 11.5 million. However, some 4.0 million of them submitted their income tax returns.
Among them, a significant portion reported income below the taxable limit.
Under existing law, having a TIN is mandatory for purchasing land, buildings or flats in Bangladesh.
Both buyers and sellers of property valued at over Tk 100,000 within city corporations, cantonment boards and municipalities at district headquarters must have TINs, as stipulated in the Finance Bill.
The twelve-digit electronic TINs (e-TINs) of both parties must be included in the deed documents during the registration process of such properties.
"For the sake of the revenue collection, we have taken the move to identify these owners of land, building and flat," a senior official of the NBR told UNB.
He acknowledged that the revenue authority had previously fallen short in pursuing these property owners for tax purposes. "We are ready to take firm action in this sector from now on," he added.
NBR has instructed tax commissioners to bring all eligible individuals and organisations under the tax net and work to eliminate fears surrounding the tax process.
The Board also directed its offices to intensify tax surveys and reactivate dormant TINs as submission of income tax returns has been made mandatory for every TIN holder.
The Income Tax Wing has issued guidelines to field offices, instructing them to collect taxpayer information from city corporations, Rajuk and sub-registrar offices.
This effort, known as "internal survey," involves collecting secondary data -- information already held by various institutions.
The NBR has extended this survey to the upazila level targeting potential taxpayers through secondary data gathering. For example, an official may identify potential taxpayers from an employer's staff list.
"This is called internal survey," the senior NBR official explained.
