Travel tax goes online in three land ports

The National Board of Revenue (NBR) has launched the procedure for online submission of travel tax in Benapole, Darshana and Bhomra land ports.
Benapole port is in Jashore district, Darshana in Chuadanga and Bhomra in Satkhira.
Outbound tourists to India, Bhutan, Nepal and Myanmar by road now can pay tax through debit or credit card, mobile financial services or Sonali Bank accounts.
NBR chairman Abu Hena Md Rahmatul Muneem inaugurated the service at a city hotel on Saturday.
He said online submission of travel tax would be implemented for water and airways in phases following the initial journey for three land ports.
This is a significant step towards digitisation and automation of the taxation system, Mr Muneem mentioned.
At the event, comptroller and auditor general Mohammad Muslim Chowdhury said a major portion of travel tax comes from airway.
"Travel tax collection for outbound travellers by air should be implemented as soon as possible to increase revenue earnings," he added.
The NBR earned Tk 11.04 billion in travel tax in fiscal year (FY) 2018-19.
Collection slipped by almost 8.0 per cent last fiscal despite a surge in the number of outbound passengers.
The receipt missed the target of Tk 14.11 billion for FY 2018-19.
Of the total tax, Tk 1.2 billion was earned from outbound tourists against 2.4 million tourists by land.
[email protected]