NBR, IFC sign deal to facilitate people to pay taxes online

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FE Report National Board of Revenue (NBR) and International Finance Corporation (IFC) signed an agreement at a city hotel on Wednesday to facilitate the people to pay their taxes online to bring an end to the traditional physical transaction system. NBR chairman Dr Nasiruddin Ahmed at pre- agreement press briefing said the automation would help reform tax policy, increase transparency in procurement, implement Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) and capacity building. Commenting on the agreement the NBR chief told reporters "with the changing of time, the role of NBR also is changing, as it is now no more an organisation only for revenue collection and regulation. It is now expanding to promote and protect investments of the industries also, especially the SMEs he added". NBR member (VAT) Mr Farid Uddin said that the ADR would be one of the most important systems to be implemented. "Under the ADR system, parties would go to the facilitators to avoid hassle and could solve disputes through negotiation", he said. IFC regional business line leader Pramita Das Gupta said they are working with 86 countries and involved in implementing automation in 17 countries including Bangladesh. She said, "It will be a milestone for us and the IFC will remain committed to providing NBR with long-term end-to-end solution to contribute to the overall economic growth of Bangladesh." Programme manager of IFC Mr Masrur Reaz said that the agreement would continue to bridge the gap between private sector and the NBR by bringing the best global practices at the doorsteps. The NBR has adapted a private sector- led growth strategy with the initiation of a modernisation plan. In the finance bill of the fiscal year 2011-12, the NBR presented an outline of a comprehensive modernisation plan and made a commitment to the country men to improve the performance with ICT enabled services, NBR officials said.