The only worthwhile outcome of annual tax fairs so far is that Tax Identification Number (TIN) can be obtained online. This is a stark reality, despite much fanfare in the observance of such an event every year that is further reinforced by promises to facilitate tax payments. The accomplishment of the fair, however, is notable. It has gone quite well to keep citizens hoping for more on-line facilities that will ultimately enable the entire tax regime to become simpler, user-friendly and transparent. But things are yet to turn that way.
It is admitted that the annual event of a week-long tax fair has already become a popular crowd-puller, given the facilities for obtaining TIN as well as for submitting tax returns. But what should have by now emerged to facilitate the tax payers in a meaningful way is far from reality. Online tax payment, a much promised system, has neither fully materialised nor is there any visible move to put it in place to meet the functional requirements. Way back in the fiscal year (FY) 2009-10, the National Board of Revenue (NBR) launched an electronic scheme named Large Taxpayers' Unit (LTU) to help ease tax payments. Encouraged by the digitised method, some firms at that time reportedly filed their tax returns under the scheme, but those were later handled partly manually, partly electronically. The same is the fate of a couple of other e-filing initiatives. These, too, proved to be half-hearted, despite the initial enthusiasm. The e-filing method, presumably because of its being not tailor-made, is not in a position to take care of all of the tax payers' needs electronically. This is frustrating, not just because tax payers, eager to use the system, are not encouraged any more, but more importantly, the immense potential of the system to steer the country's tax regime to new heights remains yet to be tapped.
At a time when public dealings by government agencies all over the world are being reduced to the minimum in order to render quick delivery of services as well as ensure transparency and efficiency, it is difficult to perceive the bottlenecks in the way of full-fledged online automation in the tax arena. Obviously, the collection of tax, besides its being the largest source of revenue earnings with increasing emphasis on generating more such receipts, calls for services that are enormous in terms of both scale and scope. It is mainly in facilitating such services that online system is the only choice. Digitising the taxation system that, one must not disagree, would have gone miles towards fulfilling what the government has been drumming up as its goal of digital Bangladesh.
What the NBR has been up to in recent times is confined mostly to motivational campaigns. But the spirit of such campaigns gets stuck when faced with hindrances and undesirable circumstances, bred by typical time-consuming tax bureaucracy. It is here that campaigns often become self-limiting. Equipping the tax system with tailor-made information technology (IT) devices can also be of great advantage to the government in curbing tax evasion and many other malpractices including capital mispricing. Beside expanding the tax net, a digitised tax system can act as a watershed not only for the tax department but it can at the same time be inspiring for other agencies of the government to follow suit.
Online tax system yet to take off
FE Team | Published: September 22, 2014 00:00:00 | Updated: November 30, 2026 06:01:00
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