Bankers urge NBR to collect info on case-to-case basis

---

FE Report
The country's leading bankers have urged the National Board of Revenue (NBR) to collect account information of businessmen on a case to case basis for restoring confidence among the investors and the business community.
They also proposed to first serve notices to the individuals, who are alleged to have concealed information in their wealth statements, after being approved by the concerned authority.
If the individual concerned fails or refuses to provide such information, then the NBR may seek information from the banks and non-banking financial institutions to know about the actual wealth position of the particular person.
The bankers made the proposals at a joint meeting of the Bangladesh Bank (BB), the NBR, the National Savings Directorate and the commercial banks, held at the conference hall in the central bank with the NBR Chairman Muhammad Abdul Mazid in the chair.
The NBR chairman assured the bankers to examine the proposals, meeting sources said.
The meeting discussed the newly introduced tax policy relating to rise in the tax-exempt ceiling on the interest income from national savings instruments.
The meeting was informed that the investors of savings certificates, who had paid income tax at source as per previous order, will get refund of their money already deducted.
The government issued an order Tuesday last, raising the tax-exempt ceiling of interest on savings tools to Tk 150,000 from the previous level of Tk 25,000.
Earlier, the government had imposed the 10 per cent tax deductible at source on interest from various savings certificates, which came into effect from July 1, 2007.
Against the backdrop of strong criticism and opposition from various quarters over the move, the council of advisers at its meeting on October 6 gave its nod to the proposal for the amendment to the Income Tax Ordinance 1984 in order to increase the tax-exempt ceiling from the interest income from national savings instruments.
"We want to resolve the misunderstanding about taxation on interest income from different savings instruments through discussion," the NBR Chairman Muhammad Abdul Mazid told reporters after the meeting.
About paying back the money as per new provision, he also said the money, which was deducted earlier as tax at source from the interests on savings instruments, will be returned to the respective investors after adjustment of total income tax payable.
For the non-taxpayers, he said, a sort of pay-back mechanism would be devised, but it would take time due to procedural complexities in withdrawing money from the national exchequer. "I hope, the confusion will now go," the NBR chairman added.
The NBR has already sent a question-answer sheet to the commercial banks so that they can provide services to their clients in a more effective way, Mazid noted.
"The NBR should be more selective when collecting information about those who are allegedly concealing wealth position to restore confidence among the businessmen," Chairman of the Association of Bankers, Bangladesh (ABB) and Managing Director of the National Bank Limited (NBL) M Aminuzzaman told reporters.
Terming the meeting very successful, Aminuzzaman said the outcome will help remove confusions among the banks over the deduction of tax at source. "The investors have nothing to fear from now," he added.
He also said the NBR is very serious to revamp confidence among the businessmen.
Currently, three government approved savings instruments are on sale.
The instruments are: 5-year Bangladesh Sanchaya Patra, 3-year Savings Certificate (interest paid on quarterly-basis) and 5-year Pensioners Sanchaya Patra (interest paid on quarterly-basis) bearing interest rates of 12 per cent, 11.50 per cent and 12.50 per cent respectively.