NBR move to eliminate false, duplicate TINs
Tuesday, 18 December 2007
Shakhawat Hossain
The national board of revenue (NBR) has launched a drive to find out duplicate and false taxpayer identification numbers (TIN) to bring correction in the existing taxpayers' base, sources said.
It has already instructed regional and zonal offices under the income tax department to prepare lists of false and duplicate TINs and submitted them to the central office.
The central office will establish a new taxpayers' base after scrutinising the lists to be sent by the zonal and regional offices, sources added.
It is imperative for the revenue board, according to its chairman, to correct the existing taxpayers' base after submission of less than expected income tax returns by TIN holders in the current fiscal.
The revenue board expected to receive nearly 1.0 million returns in the 2007-08 fiscal.
But some 0.63 million taxpayers submitted tax return.
Statistics show that nearly one third of the TIN holders have not submitted returns. This should be investigated, said a senior income tax department official.
Besides, the existing taxpayers' base should be corrected as the revenue board plans to introduce unified taxpayer identification number (UTIN) in the current fiscal on experimental basis.
Without such correction, the official, said it will be difficult for the revenue board to adopt an appropriate UTIN, which will be introduced in country's two existing large taxpayers units (LTUs) to prevent tax evasion.
However, many NBR insiders have expressed doubt over the current procedure of correcting the existing taxpayers' base.
They pointed out that it would be difficult to correct the taxpayers' base as there is provision of issuing TIN within 24 hours.
The immediate past political regime introduced the system in early 2000s so that the taxpayers, especially export and import businessmen, faced no problem to get TINs.
The system, according to the insiders, is mainly responsible for existence of false and duplicate TINs as the concerned officials have little time to verify documents.
The national board of revenue (NBR) has launched a drive to find out duplicate and false taxpayer identification numbers (TIN) to bring correction in the existing taxpayers' base, sources said.
It has already instructed regional and zonal offices under the income tax department to prepare lists of false and duplicate TINs and submitted them to the central office.
The central office will establish a new taxpayers' base after scrutinising the lists to be sent by the zonal and regional offices, sources added.
It is imperative for the revenue board, according to its chairman, to correct the existing taxpayers' base after submission of less than expected income tax returns by TIN holders in the current fiscal.
The revenue board expected to receive nearly 1.0 million returns in the 2007-08 fiscal.
But some 0.63 million taxpayers submitted tax return.
Statistics show that nearly one third of the TIN holders have not submitted returns. This should be investigated, said a senior income tax department official.
Besides, the existing taxpayers' base should be corrected as the revenue board plans to introduce unified taxpayer identification number (UTIN) in the current fiscal on experimental basis.
Without such correction, the official, said it will be difficult for the revenue board to adopt an appropriate UTIN, which will be introduced in country's two existing large taxpayers units (LTUs) to prevent tax evasion.
However, many NBR insiders have expressed doubt over the current procedure of correcting the existing taxpayers' base.
They pointed out that it would be difficult to correct the taxpayers' base as there is provision of issuing TIN within 24 hours.
The immediate past political regime introduced the system in early 2000s so that the taxpayers, especially export and import businessmen, faced no problem to get TINs.
The system, according to the insiders, is mainly responsible for existence of false and duplicate TINs as the concerned officials have little time to verify documents.