Tk 230b stuck-up due to audit objections

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Jasim Khan
The Internal Resource Division (IRD) has taken initiative for speedy disposal of about 50,000 long-pending audit objections involving Tk 230 billion.
At least half of the amount is likely to come to the government coffer once the audit objections are settled, officials said.
The IRD in a meeting last week formed three separate audit cells, one at IRD and two at National Board of Revenue (NBR) following directive issued by the Public Accounts Committee of parliament.
The three-member IRD audit cell headed by its joint secretary (Admin) will prepare a data sheet on the audit objections and those by holding tripartite meetings with NBR and CAG officials.
The two other cells at NBR will prepare a schedule of audit objections on customs, excise, VAT and income tax on yearly basis and area-wise work plan from August 2012 in a set format to help facilitate speedy disposal of the objections.
The IRD officials expressed the hope that disposal of the audit objections would help the government earn about half of the disputed money.
"In order to bring transparency, accountability and discipline in revenue administration, the huge backlog of audit objections should be resolved as early as possible," M Shahid Ullah Mian, Additional Secretary, IRD told the meeting.
The comprehensive drive for settling a large number of pending audit objections would not only bring accountability and transparency in the revenue administration but also help earn money by the national exchequer.
Mr Shahid Ullah emphasised on strict adherence to the Internal Audit Manual issued by the Finance Division in settling the pending audit objections.
According to a latest position paper prepared by the Directorate of Local and Revenue Audit as of April 17, a total of 49,847 audit objections on Customs, VAT, and Income tax, involving Tk 232.23 billion, remained pending.
Kamal Anwar, Director of Local and Revenue Audit said that regular tripartite meetings with NBR, IRD and Audit officials can help speedy resolution of the objections. NBR and the Audit department have some differences in terms of audit objections and amount of money.
Earlier, Comptroller and Auditor general (CAG) of Bangladesh has reportedly accused the NBR of 'failure' to collect the revenue against pending cases from private organizations in recent years.
Meanwhile, in six recent audit reports on different NBR field offices of 2006-07 and 2007-08, the CAG said that the tax officials failed to collect the taxes because of violation of tax laws, irregularities and inefficiency.
As the audit reports covered only a small part of the work of the NBR, it is likely that the actual uncollected amount of taxes might be much higher, the report said.
But a high official of the NBR rejected the allegations of its failure saying that the authenticity of CAG audit objections and allegations could not be proved in most cases.
He said the CAG generates 'inaccurate and weak reports because of inappropriate audit methods. The audits not only blamed the revenue board but also taxpayers trying to evade due taxes by giving false statements and documents at different stages of tax assessment.
The weakness of the internal control system within the revenue board, lack of monitoring by the seniors and willingness of taxpayers to go to court have also contributed to the irregularities and revenue losses of the government.