The National Board of Revenue (NBR) on Sunday launched an automated system that allows income tax paid at the import stage to be directly credited to taxpayers' electronic income tax returns, significantly easing long-standing compliance hassles for importers.
The new facility has been introduced through the successful integration of the NBR's e-return system with ASYCUDA World, the customs clearance platform, reports UNB.
From now on, advance income tax paid during import will automatically appear as a credit in the concerned taxpayer's e-return.
Officials said the move has effectively ended years of difficulties faced by importers in adjusting import-stage income tax against their final tax liability.
At the same time, it has made the process of filing e-returns simpler and more efficient for importing businesses.
Under the new system, when an importer enters business income details in the e-return for a particular assessment year, information related to advance income tax paid against each Bill of Entry during that year will be displayed automatically.
The credited amount is then deducted from the total payable income tax, enabling the system to determine the final tax payable along with the return.
The NBR noted that the initiative is part of its broader effort to digitise tax administration and improve taxpayer services through automation and system integration.
The e-return system for the 2025-26 tax year was formally inaugurated on August 4, 2025 by Finance Adviser Dr Salehuddin Ahmed through the website www.etaxnbr.gov.bd.
Since the launch, more than 4.6 million taxpayers have registered on the e-return platform, while around 3.3 million taxpayers have already submitted their income tax returns online.
Notably, the NBR said, many individuals for whom e-return filing is not mandatory are also voluntarily submitting their returns through the online system, indicating growing acceptance of digital tax services.
The scope of the system has also been expanded to include non-resident Bangladeshis.
