NBR revenue earning set to go past target this fiscal

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FE Report
The National Board of Revenue (NBR) Monday said it would surpass revenue collection target this year and that political instability would not hurt the upward trend of tax collection.
The board has achieved 26 per cent growth in revenue collection in the first four months of the current fiscal exceeding its target.
Tax collection has achieved 109 per cent growth over its target set for the July-October period this year.
"We are confident of surpassing the revenue collection target for the current fiscal. Political volatility will not affect the revenue collection," NBR chairman Dr. Nasiruddin Ahmed said at a press briefing held at conference room of the board in the city.
Value Added Tax (VAT) grew by 31.38 per cent while income tax 29 per cent and customs 19.12 per cent.
The board has collected Tk 212.36 billion tax against its target for 194.37 billion for July-October period.
The NBR chairman said the budgetary measures and effective monitoring helped the tax collectors boost up revenue collection.
"We have imposed taxes on stock market, increased withholding taxes, advance income taxes and advance trade VAT in the budget," Ahmed said.
On transit fees, the NBR chairman said the commerce ministry is dealing with the issue and by December a new transit policy will be framed.
The existing river protocol would be followed to provide transit facilities to India, he said.
There would be a transit fee in the new transit policy, he said.
The NBR chairman said the tax collectors have been working with their full efforts despite the scarcity of manpower, he said.
A total of 80 VAT officials and 152 customs inspectors would be recruited within a short time, he said.
He said an NBR team went for spot assessment Monday in city's Bakushah market at Nilkhet.
He said the revenue board is also working on new income tax and VAT laws.
NBR member (tax policy) Aminur Rahman said the new income tax law would focus on online tax return filing, expansion, revising tax incentives and concessions.
"There are huge tax incentives and concessions given in the existing income tax law, which will be both revised and slashed," he said.
Loopholes in the law would be identified along with simplifying it and avoiding different explanations of a law, he said.
Farid Uddin, member (VAT and customs administration), said: "New VAT law will focus on the distortions. Tax exemption will be reduced."
The new VAT law will be framed on the country's economic perspective and contribute to raising investments, he said.
On implementation of Electronic Cash Register (ECR), the NBR chairman said the move has not progressed and the board will go for enforcement.