JS body looks into 20 income tax offices' past irregularities
Thursday, 7 January 2010
Doulot Akter Mala
The government has moved again to look into the financial irregularities, taking place in 20 income tax offices during the period of 1977-78 to 1985-86, which caused a substantial amount of loss in revenue to the national exchequer.
The irregularities were detected in the audit report 1989-90 of the then Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of Bangladesh.
The audit report was prepared at that time in an effort to find out different financial irregularities in government entities since inception to 1990.
The financial irregularities include not depositing advance income tax (AIT), not charging interest rates, claiming less surcharge and interest rates, collecting less income tax and not collecting penalty for tax evasion.
Recently the Parliamentary Standing Committee for Public Accounts has asked the revenue board to settle those audit objections within the shortest possible time.
Asked about the issue, a top income tax official said: "Those audit objections are not valid now as the government has dissolved all outstanding income taxes until 1985-86 through the Finance Bill, 2002, Section 72, barring cases under trial with the Supreme Court."
"The National Board of Revenue (NBR) submitted a report to the parliamentary standing committee last month responding to its queries. It has clarified the matter to the Jatiya Sangsad (JS) committee," the official said.
"It is not possible to follow up those audit objections as jurisdiction of all tax offices were reshuffled and increased in 1990," he said.
The government has increased the number of income tax offices to eight tax zones from four in Dhaka. It has also increased the number of income tax zones to three in Chittagong and launched another one in Sylhet.
Even, the NBR would not be able to chase those income taxpayers, as there were no TINs (Taxpayers' Identification Numbers) in the audit objections, the official said.
The audit report referred to 'a section of taxpayers' instead of giving the taxpayers' identities, he added.
The parliamentary standing committee has re-opened the audit reports and objections until 1990, which were pending, for further discussion.
The government has moved again to look into the financial irregularities, taking place in 20 income tax offices during the period of 1977-78 to 1985-86, which caused a substantial amount of loss in revenue to the national exchequer.
The irregularities were detected in the audit report 1989-90 of the then Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of Bangladesh.
The audit report was prepared at that time in an effort to find out different financial irregularities in government entities since inception to 1990.
The financial irregularities include not depositing advance income tax (AIT), not charging interest rates, claiming less surcharge and interest rates, collecting less income tax and not collecting penalty for tax evasion.
Recently the Parliamentary Standing Committee for Public Accounts has asked the revenue board to settle those audit objections within the shortest possible time.
Asked about the issue, a top income tax official said: "Those audit objections are not valid now as the government has dissolved all outstanding income taxes until 1985-86 through the Finance Bill, 2002, Section 72, barring cases under trial with the Supreme Court."
"The National Board of Revenue (NBR) submitted a report to the parliamentary standing committee last month responding to its queries. It has clarified the matter to the Jatiya Sangsad (JS) committee," the official said.
"It is not possible to follow up those audit objections as jurisdiction of all tax offices were reshuffled and increased in 1990," he said.
The government has increased the number of income tax offices to eight tax zones from four in Dhaka. It has also increased the number of income tax zones to three in Chittagong and launched another one in Sylhet.
Even, the NBR would not be able to chase those income taxpayers, as there were no TINs (Taxpayers' Identification Numbers) in the audit objections, the official said.
The audit report referred to 'a section of taxpayers' instead of giving the taxpayers' identities, he added.
The parliamentary standing committee has re-opened the audit reports and objections until 1990, which were pending, for further discussion.