In the current tax year, it became all the more difficult for taxpayers who used to submit tax returns without taking help of tax lawyers or Income Tax Practitioners (ITP). The reason is Bangladesh has got a new income-tax law this financial year (FY) after a hundred years, titled Income Tax Law 1922. The government has replaced the previous Income Tax Ordinance 1984 with the new tax law. A number of new provisions have been incorporated into the law for taxpayers. Many taxpayers, especially salaried ones, are now busy preparing to file tax returns in compliance with the new provisions, as the deadline for tax-return submission approaching--the end of November 2023.
And mind you, penal measures for failing to meet the deadline for return submission have been made stricter in the new tax law, effective from July 1, 2023. Tax liability of an individual would jump manifold, along with 4.0- percent penalty, in the event of missing the submission deadline. There is no provision for taxpayers to seek time extension like in previous years this year.
Addressing the travails of the law, a guideline to tax-return filling for both government and private employees has been published recently. Md Jahangir Alam, a tax consultant and founder of Golden Bangladesh, has compiled and edited the necessary provisions of the Income Tax Act 2023 that came through the Finance Act 2023 in the book.
The time-befitting book has brought all of the necessary provisions together which a salaried person, both in public and private sectors, would need to know to go about filing tax returns this year. It would be a complete guideline for them all. It would also help taxpayers to comply with the legal provisions of new tax law.
The book has well-explained the provisions of the tax law, such as taxpayer who are required to submit tax returns on a mandatory basis, where taxpayers need to submit proof of return submission, availability of return forms, time or deadline for submission of tax returns, place where return could be submitted, consequences of not filing tax returns, who and when a taxpayer need to submit expenditure to the taxmen, tax- rebate facility on investment, provident-fund tax etc.
In the book, Mr Alam also gives details with examples, in an easy way, on tax computation and income of new taxpayers.
Why and in what situation a taxpayer may face taxmen's scrutiny, the existing provisions of declaring undisclosed income and answers to frequently asked questions have also been explained in the guidebook.
From this book, individual taxpayers would be able to know how paid taxes could be adjusted with the actual payable taxes.
The book has brought an ample opportunity for the salaried taxpayers to file tax returns themselves sans incurring additional expenditures to hire consultants or ITPs. Adoption to the transition of the direct-tax regime would be easier if any taxpayers follow the guidelines provided in the book.
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