Trade bodies have urged the National Board of Revenue (NBR) to extend the deadline for submission of income-tax returns by individual assesses to allow them to adapt to the changes that came with a new law.
The Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) requested it to be extended by one month until December 31, 2023 while the Chittagong Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI) requested extending it by two months until January 31, 2024.
FBCCI President Md Mahbubul Alam in a recent letter to NBR Chairman Abu Hena Md Rahmatul Muneem pointed out that taxpayers may not be able to meet the existing deadline of November 30, 2023 due to the ongoing political unrest.
The taxpayers have not had sufficient time to prepare for the return submission due to delays in publishing the Income Tax Poripatra (a guideline with details of tax measures), he added.
Sources at the NBR said that an extension of the deadline is under active consideration of the NBR amid difficulties being faced by both taxmen and taxpayers to cope with the new changes in income tax law.
They said the NBR cannot take this decision right now as its chairman is now on an overseas tour.
The official sources said that though the new law has no such scope to extend the deadline, yet the NBR can manage it under different arrangements, for this year only, by issuing an order.
The new Income Tax Law-2023, came into effect from June 23, 2023, has replaced the previous ordinance, framed in 1984, with a number of new provisions.
However, the taxmen were unwilling to concede that the 'Poripatra' can be cited as a reason for extending the deadline as the guideline for filling up the returns was issued in September last.
Visiting some field-level tax offices, this correspondent found poor presence of taxpayers in the Income Tax Booths as many are yet to complete their preparations.
The FBCCI president said the stakeholders and associations of the country's apex trade body have sought an extension by two months.
However, the FBCCI requested for a month following businesses woes due to the dollar crisis and volatile money market, he added, requesting the NBR to focus on tax net expansion rather than putting pressure on existing taxpayers as he pointed out the higher tax-base in India and Pakistan than Bangladesh.
The NBR is yet to compile the status of tax return submission until Wednesday.
Our Chattogram correspondent adds: In a letter to the NBR chairman on Wednesday, CCCI President Omar Hazzaz said a large number of taxpayers would not be able to submit their returns within the existing deadline due to an adverse environment like delayed issuance of return filing guideline and lack of understanding of the new law.
It is almost impossible for the taxpayers to file returns by the existing deadline, he said, demanding the extension of the return filing schedule.
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