The National Board of Revenue (NBR) has extended the deadline for tax-return submission by individual taxpayers by two months following demands from the businesses and taxpayers.
Also, it has extended the deadline for corporate tax-return submission by one and a half months, until February 28, 2024.
The deadline was scheduled to expire today (November 30), declared as Tax Day in the Income Tax Act-2023.
The income tax policy wing of the NBR has issued an order, signed by Md Mohidul Islam Chowdhury, second secretary (Tax Law), on Wednesday by extending the Tax Day until January 31, 2024 for the individual taxpayers.
For corporate taxpayers, the Tax Day has been extended until February 28, 2024, which was scheduled to end on January 15, 2024.
Officials said the number of tax return files being submitted remained low until November 28, 2023 as many taxmen and taxpayers are yet to adopt the changes in the new law.
Until November 27, 2023, the NBR has received 1.9 million tax returns with Tk42 billion taxes.
Of the total, some 0.3 million tax returns have been smutted through online portal.
Earlier, the apex chamber demanded extension of time for submission of tax returns by individual taxpayers for a month until December 31, 2023 to allow taxpayers adopt the changes that came with the new income tax law this year.
The Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) also pointed out political unrest centring the upcoming national election as reason behind the taxpayers possibly not being able to meet the deadline of November 30, 2023.
FBCCI president Md Mahbubul Alam has sent a letter to the National Board of Revenue (NBR) Chairman Abu Hena Md Rahmatul Muneem in this regard.
In the letter, Mr Alam also said taxpayers have not got sufficient time to take preparation for tax return submission due to delay in publishing the Income Tax Poripatra (a guideline with details of tax measures).
The official sources said though the new law has no such scope to extend deadline, the NBR has managed it under different arrangements, for this year only, issuing an order.
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