Big businesses\' Tk 29.58b tax money gets stuck

Doulot Akter Mala | Published: March 19, 2016 00:00:00 | Updated: February 01, 2018 00:00:00

Some Tk 29.58 billion is stuck in a logjam of 25 lawsuits filed by 15 big businesses, making government's corporate income-tax target in recent years difficult to be achieved, sources said.Â Â
Of the corporate taxpayers, eight are private commercial banks and four mobile-phone companies.
The government has set a revenue target of Tk 1.76 trillion for fiscal year (FY) 2015-16. Until February, the revenue board had faced Tk 135 billion shortfall in revenue collection.
The Large Taxpayers Unit (LTU) under the National Board of Revenue listed the names of the companies as sensitive and priority-based cases.
Majorities of the cases, 20 out of 25, have been filed by the large corporate taxpayers in over a decade's time between 2000 and 2014 period.
Agrani, Sonali, Rupali, IFIC, Islami, AB, Mutual Trust, and Shahjalal Islami Bank are among the large corporate taxpayers who have court cases under priority list of the NBR.
Cases are also pending from Grameenphone, Orascom Telecom Bangladesh (Banglalink), Axiata Bangladesh Limited (Robi), and Pacific Bangladesh Telecom (Citycell).
Largest corporate taxpayer Grameenphone has the highest amount of disputed tax, about Tk 12.33 billion, stuck up in five court cases.
Grameenphone has filed the income tax-related cases for tax years 2007-08, 2008-09, 2009-10, 2011-12 and 2012-13.
About one-third of the total stuck-up tax from the 15 taxpayers is due from the mobile- phone kingpin. Orascom Telecom Bangladesh ltd (banglalink) filed a case for tax year 2008-09, involving Tk 5.91 billion.
Axiata Bangladesh Limited filed a reference case for tax year 2008-09 regarding Tk 653 million worth of taxes.
Two cases filed by Pacific Telecom (Citycell) are among the list of top 25 priority and sensitive cases. The company filed reference cases for tax year 2006-07 and 2008-09.
RAK Ceramics, Nestle Bangladesh Ltd, AB Bank, British American Tobacco Company Limited, and Bata Shoe Company Limited are also among the priority cases.
The Large Taxpayers Unit under the income-tax wing recently submitted the list of those cases to the NBR to expedite their disposal.
Talking to the FE, a senior tax official said most of the cases are filed by the taxpayers about the taxes which are recoverable.
"The LTU is hopeful about collecting 99 per cent of the revenue tucked up under the top 25 pending cases of large taxpayers," he said.
Officials said the board is exploring all possible ways to find out recoverable revenue for achieving the target for the current fiscal. Â
According to the data available with the National Board of Revenue (NBR), a total of Tk 309 billion in revenue from income tax, customs and VAT wing remained blocked with a barrage of 24,572 court cases.
The stuck-up revenue is equivalent to 17.55 per cent of the total revenue target of Tk 1.76 trillion set for the current fiscal's budget.
The NBR introduced Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) for out-of-the court settlement of tax-related cases but that was yet to prove successful in attracting taxpayers' attention.
Â Â Â doulot_akter@yahoo.com