The data on income tax collection compiled by the National Board of Revenue (NBR) for 2013-14 show the receipts Tk 48.41 billion higher than the figure available with the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG), creating confusion in fiscal planning.
A comparative study by the research and statistics wing of the NBR identified the mismatch recently.
In the FY 2013-14, field-level tax offices across the country collected Tk 432.07 billion in income tax while CAG office data counted actual income tax receipt at Tk 383.65 billion.
"Such a gaping mismatch in income tax figure for the last year raised concern among the tax authority," said one official.
Many alleged false reporting on income tax data in a bid to minimise the shortfall in tax while some claimed the CAG office skipped some entries on the advance income tax chalans.
The statistics wing has found large amounts of bungling in three tax zones: 2, 4 and 8.
The research wing of the NBR in a letter to the income tax wing requested finding out the reasons of such discrepancies. It also sought opinion of the income tax wing on authenticity of the data.
As such, the income tax wing would sit with the tax offices concerned on January 29 to discuss the matter of miscalculations.
Tax officials said central monitoring and reconciliation of data are needed to avoid such mismatch.
A senior tax official said the discrepancy with the compiled figures of the NBR and CAG is an old matter, usually caused by delays in receiving pay orders, duplication of some chalans and other reasons.
In 2009, the NBR had decided to publish the reconciled data of revenue collections to remove mismatch in statistics released by the offices of CAG and the revenue board.
It had also formed a committee to publish a consistent revenue figure, after reconciliation of data from the two entities. The efforts went in vain.
The variations in revenue collection data between the two wings usually create confusion among the policymakers and taxpayers.
"They are being misguided with the national data with wrong or false figure of tax collection," said the tax official.
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