Income-tax return submission deadline extended by a month

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FE Report
The National Board of Revenue (NBR) has extended the time for submission of income-tax returns by one month until October 31, 2008. The previous deadline was September 30.
"The time for submission of income-tax returns has been extended by a month until October 31," NBR Chairman Muhammad Abdul Mazid told the FE Saturday, adding that Finance Adviser AB Mirza Azizul Islam has given his consent to the time extension.
He went on: "We have extended the timeframe, taking the holy month of Ramadan, the ensuing Eid festival and Durga Puja into consideration."
The NBR chairman further said the demands made by various trade bodies and business associations to extend the deadline was also considered before taking the decision.
"A good number of trade bodies and business associations had made appeals to us, seeking more time for submission of income-tax returns," said the NBR chief.
Responding to a query, he said the NBR has so far received a poor response from the individuals regarding the submission of tax returns.
The NBR chairman added: "Normally, the taxpayers have the tendency to file their income-tax returns at the eleventh hour of the official deadline."
He also expressed the hope that the NBR would receive an increased number of tax returns following the extension of the deadline.
"We are expecting a satisfactory response from the taxpayers during the extended time," he said.
According to official sources, the total number of taxpayer identification number (TIN) holders is 2.3 - 2.4 million.
And, around 0.8 to 0.9 million out of the total TIN holders normally file their annual income-tax returns while the actual number of taxpayers is lower than that, they said.
Terming the number of taxpayers 'far below' the expected level, an official said there remains enormous scope for raising the number.
Citing the existing mismatch between the numbers of TIN holders and taxpayers, officials admitted that a large number of TIN holders are either 'irregular' or 'ghosts'.
Against this backdrop, the authority had earlier initiated a process to delete the false TINs out from the system through verifying their gentility.
Meanwhile, the government has set the target of collecting income tax and profit at Tk 130.54 billion for the fiscal year (FY) 2008-09 against revised amount of Tk 110.05 billion in the FY 2007-08.
The NBR, however, collected Tk 11.30 billion as income tax during the July-August period of the FY 2008-09, reflecting a growth rate of only 1.70 per cent over the corresponding period of last fiscal, provisional official figures revealed.