1200 big businesses to come under new NBR software network

Doulot Akter Mala About 1200 large businesses will come under the new networking system of the National Board of Revenue (NBR) from January next as the tax authority has made installation of prescribed software mandatory replacing the existing one. The businesses include banks, insurance, mobile phone operators, hotels, restaurants, manufacturing companies, shoe, plastic goods, chain shops, corrugated iron (cg) sheet, furniture, beverage, etc. Those businesses have to buy the NBR prescribed complete software and have to customize it with their own system. The NBR has made the rule mandatory for large businesses that pay VAT above Tk 5.0 million and above annually. The NBR held a meeting recently to expedite selection of software companies who will prepare the software for companies. Bangladesh Association of Software and Information Services (BASIS) and all commissioners of the VAT wing attended the meeting. "The NBR will form a committee to select some firms evaluating their expertise to prepare the software as per requirements of the tax authority. The big companies will have to buy it for their businesses," said a senior VAT official. The NBR has stipulated .a 12-point eligibility criterion for the software companies to apply to the NBR for getting the task of developing the software. He said the NBR has found an applicant company 'Innovia Technology Limited' possessing expertise to meet the criteria. The official said the process of selection of companies should be geared up as it would need three months to prepare software and customize it with the respective company. "It's time to expedite the matter if the NBR wants to implement it from first day of the next calendar year," he said. He said some big companies have already installed software for maintaining their accounts but it is not a complete one to meet demands of the taxmen. Although those companies have obtained permission from the NBR before installing it, they have to replace the software now following the new instructions came in the budget for current fiscal, he said. "We have issued letter to the businesses to get preparation on installing the software," said a commissioner of VAT field office. Mandatory rule on installation of Electronic Cash Register (ECR) will remain valid for small and medium shops while new software will be made mandatory from January 1, 2012 for large businesses, he said. Head of corporate affairs of Marico Bangladesh Limited, Md Iqbal Chowdhury, welcomed the installation of new software saying that it would reduce manual interaction between taxmen and taxpayers. "VAT is a complicated law. Businessmen have to take separate registration for separate transaction or businesses under a single wing," he said. Uniform software can simplify system of accepting price declaration by taxmen, submission of Chalan (invoice) etc, he said. "Businessmen now submit chalan in every 72 hours in VAT offices. Such manual interaction should be shifted into online system," he added. Businesses can tag the new software with POS (point of sale) system.