Some 28 per cent of the aggregate revenue targeted from value-added tax (VAT) remained stuck with a logjam of court cases while alternative dispute resolution (ADR) failed to sail through.
Officials said only one VAT case could be resolved so far by application of the alternative system of adjudication.
The VAT wing of the revenue board has some Tk 179.38 billion worth of revenue stuck-up out of its total target for 639.02 billion for fiscal 2015-16.
Officials found success ratio on resolving VAT-related cases through ADR poor as businesses are not applying for settling their cases through ADR mechanism.
"Only five applications for resolution of disputes, involving Tk 592 million, have been submitted to the VAT wing so far for settlement of cases through this alternative process," said one official.
A total of Tk 309 billion in revenue from income tax, customs and VAT wings remained blocked by 24,572 court cases.
The stuck-up revenue is 17.55 per cent of the total revenue target of Tk 1.76 trillion for the current FY.
A review report of the National Board of Revenue (NBR) found a poor scenario of tax collection through the use of ADR.
The NBR collected only Tk 1.19 billion in revenue out of Tk 46.37 billion involved with 571 cases placed for the out-of-court settlement.
Officials said the ADR process can resolve only factual disputes while legal part remains unresolved, thereby blocking a large part of due revenue.
"Resolving VAT and customs cases through ADR is quite difficult as it depends on valuation," said an official at the wing.
A total of 518 cases have been resolved through the ADR process, according to the latest report of the NBR.
Officials said the success on income-tax-related ADR cases brought the major part of unrealised revenue worth Tk 1.16 out of Tk 1.19 billion.
The NBR has received 478 applications from the income taxpayers for out-of-the-court settlement of their cases.
Some Tk 45.68 billion in revenue is involved with the income-tax- related cases.
In the ADR process, taxpayers have to apply to the NBR for settlement of their disputes with the taxmen.
However, ADR resolved 67 disputes of the customs wing involving Tk 33 million out of some 88 applications.
Both tax officials and businessmen have sought proper government initiatives to popularise the system.
Recently, the NBR held a seminar on 'Revenue case management and Effectiveness of ADR' in the city to popularize ADR with the cooperation of lawyers and justices.
doulot_akter@yahoo.com
Some 28pc VAT revenue tucked under court cases
Doulot Akter Mala | Published: December 06, 2015 00:00:00 | Updated: December 06, 2015 00:29:17
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