Four state-owned entities owe nearly Tk 5.0 billion in income tax to the National Board of Revenue (NBR) which has emerged as an additional challenge to the latter in its mission to achieve a higher target in the current fiscal that ends next month. The tax in arrears worth Tk 1.46 billion is lying with Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC), Tk 1. 57 billion with Dhaka Power Distribution Company (DPDC), Tk 621 million with Dhaka Electric Supply Company (DESCO) and Bangladesh Bridge Authority (BBA) owes Tk 910 million. According to figures obtained from different tax offices in Dhaka and Chittagong, it has been found that state-owned enterprises (SoEs) are among the major non-compliant taxpayers. Tax officials said the state-owned companies should be tax-compliant to encourage the private sector people to pay tax regularly. Tax offices recently served notices on the state-owned enterprises to pay their dues by this month. The letters were accompanied by a note of warning to take punitive measures against the defaulters in accordance with the income tax law. Earlier, NBR vowed to reduce the huge tax gap after it hasdfound a major part of the tax revenue remaining unrealised in the absence of an effective move. Until April, BPC kept Tk 1.46 billion advance tax unpaid on import of petroleum products through Chittagong port. DPDC owed Tk 1.57 billion in income tax to the government until 2009-2010 while DESCO owed Tk 621 million. Talking to the FE, NBR member Aminul Karim, who heads the tax administration wing, said the revenue board is committed to realise the outstanding taxes from the tax dodgers. "We expect voluntary compliance of the taxpayers. The taxmen are desperately trying to achieve the revenue target for the current fiscal," he said. The income tax wing will have to collect almost 40 per cent of the tax in May-June period, he added. Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC) chairman M Muktadir Ali said the corporation is supplying fuel at much lower cost than that of its purchasing prices. "We have also Tk 20 billion in dues to other companies. The corporation will pay all the income tax arrears after getting its dues," he said. BPC is spending all of its earning for import of petroleum products, he said. DPDC managing director Abdus Sobhan said the entity would talk to the revenue board on its claim of arrear income taxes as the corporation does not agree to it. He said the huge amount of arrears piled up when it was DESA, but DPDC is a profitable entity now. The corporation has earned profit worth Tk 2.0 billion in the last fiscal, he said. "We don't have any financial crisis. The DPDC authorities will sit with the revenue board to fix the actual dues," he said adding that the corporation received notices from the tax department. Md. Ziauddin, finance director of Bangladesh Bridge Authority (BBA), said they are discussing with the tax authorities about finding ways to settle the amount of taxes in arrears. "The tax amount will be much lower as there are some adjustments in taxes. The issue will be finalised after holding discussion with the authorities concerned," he said. The main income of BBA is from tolls charged for using the bridges and its financial condition is sound now, he added. Revenue board officials said the government has fixed a higher revenue collection target for the current year which is now a challenge for taxmen. Simultaneous drive for finding out tax evaders and realising unpaid taxes from both private and public sectors is the major task of the tax department in the last quarter of the current year. Tax officials said the respective tax officials have issued several notices with a deadline to pay the arrear taxes, but did not get any response so far. They said the tax collecting authorities would have to freeze bank accounts of the errant taxpayers, who do not respond to the notices.
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