Unified TIN recommended by IMF to curb tax evasion

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has recommended introducing a single Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN) in Bangladesh as part of sweeping reforms aimed at modernising the country's revenue administration, improving transparency and curbing tax evasion, reports UNB.
Under the proposed system, income tax, VAT, customs, import-export, tax deduction at source and other financial data of an individual or institution will be accessible and analyzable on a single platform.
The recommendation came during a meeting on Tuesday between an IMF delegation and senior officials of the National Board of Revenue (NBR) including NBR Chairman Ahsan Habib, according to sources familiar with the discussion.
An IMF fact-finding mission, led by Bangladesh Mission Chief Iva Petrova, is currently visiting Bangladesh to hold a series of discussions with the government on revenue administration reforms, tax collection enhancement, digital modernization, and broader economic reforms.
The IMF noted that this integration would enhance transparency and efficiency in tax administration, streamline tax evasion detection, and make taxpayer services faster and more effective.
Currently, Bangladesh uses electronic Taxpayer Identification Numbers (e-TIN) for income taxpayers and Business Identification Numbers (BIN) for VAT-registered entities.
The IMF observed that maintaining two separate identification numbers causes taxpayer information to remain scattered across different databases, preventing a consolidated view and effective analysis of a taxpayer's full economic activities.
The IMF highlighted that a single identification system would consolidate income tax returns, VAT returns, import-export data, tax deduction at source, banking transactions, and other tax-related information into one platform.