No refund of paid advance tax to private car owners
Doulot Akter Mala | Wednesday, 8 June 2016
Private car owners will neither be able to get refund of their paid advance tax against registration and fitness renewal of their cars nor carry forward the amount as per proposed tax measure in the Finance Bill-2016.
As per the measures, car owners can adjust the advance paid tax with the taxable amount but will not get refund or cannot carry forward the additional tax amount with the payable tax of the next year.
"Where a person pays advance tax under Subsection (2), and the income from regular sources of the person results in a tax liability less than the said advance tax, the income of such person shall be deemed to be the amount that results in a tax liability equal to the said advance tax," the Finance Bill reads.
Currently, owners of private car can adjust the advance paid tax with the payable tax. They can carry forward the additional amount of paid tax with the payable tax of the next year.
The Finance Bill included a provision under which the advance paid tax will not be refundable, said a senior income tax official.
Even, a car owner has to pay advance income tax although his annual income is below the taxable limit Tk 2,50,000.
However, tax officials said it is unbelievable that an owner of car in the country has below taxable income tax. Maintenance cost of a car is high in the country.
In the proposed budget, the government also exempted vehicles of educational institutions under Monthly Payment Order (MPO) of the government from payment of advance tax.
In the Finance Bill-2016, the government included the provision of collection of advance tax from private car owners which was earlier in the Statutory Regulatory Order (SRO).
However, all the amounts of the tax on the basis of engine capacity remained unchanged for FY 2016-17.
Car owners have to pay the advance tax at the time of registration or renewal of fitness in the Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA).
However, the tax will be charged at 50 per cent higher for each motor car if the owner has two or more cars in his name or in joint names with other person or persons.
As per the Finance Bill, owner of a car or jeep with engine capacity up to 1500 cc has to pay Tk 15,000 followed by 1500 cc to 2500 cc Tk 30,000, 2000 cc to 2500 cc Tk 50,000, 2500 cc to 3000 cc Tk 75,000, 3000 cc to 3500 cc Tk 1,00,000, above 3500 cc Tk 1,25,000 and minibus Tk 20,000.
Some nine entities enjoy exemption from payment of advance tax on motor cars. These are government and local government, a project, programme or activity under the government and local government, a foreign diplomat, a diplomatic mission in Bangladesh, United Nations and its offices, development partners of Bangladesh and its affiliated office and offices, MPO-listed educational institutions, a public university, any entity that is not a person as defined in the law, a gazetted war-wounded freedom fighter and an institution that has obtained a certificate from the board that advance tax shall not be collected from it.