Taxpayers on Saturday continued to throng the venues of the weeklong income tax fair taking advantage of the weekend that helped the National Board of Revenue to net a record Tk 1,064 crore in income taxes in the first three days of the fair.
Around 2.22 lakh taxpayers filed their income tax returns in three days while 6.76 lakh people received services related to income tax from tax officials at the fair venues, including the central venue set up at the Officers’ Club Dhaka.
A total of 1.85 lakh taxpayers filed tax returns worth Tk 1,014 crore in the first three days of the fair last year while another 6,12 lakh people visited the fair venues.
On the third day alone this year, the revenue board has received a total of Tk 262 crore in income taxes from 84,534 taxpayers who filed their returns at venues across the country, including the eight divisional cities.
A total of 11,979 new taxpayers also obtained their electronic taxpayers’ identification numbers at the fair venues in the three days since Thursday when the fair began.
The tax authorities collected Tk 249 crore in income taxes from 74,047 taxpayers on the third day of last year’s edition.
This year, the NBR has arranged the fair at 120 spots, including seven-day fairs in the eight divisional headquarters, four-day editions in 56 district headquarters, two-day fairs in 48 upazilas and one‑day fairs in eight upazilas.
Officials said that visitors and taxpayers thronged the fair venues on the weekly government holiday of Saturday to receive services such as filing of tax returns, making tax payments and obtaining electronic taxpayers’ identification numbers.
The NBR has also witnessed a greater number of enthusiastic taxpayers at booths of e-payment and mobile financial services this year, they said, adding that there is no service charge or fee on tax payments made using Mobile Financial Services such as Nagad, Bkash, Rocket and Sure Cash during the fair.
The revenue board has introduced tax payment using the MFS for the first time to facilitate payment of taxes for small scale taxpayers. The facilities to file tax returns online are also available.
The fair venues will remain open from 9:00am to 5:00pm till November 20, the last day of the fair.
The revenue board introduced the fair in 2010 to facilitate payment of income taxes, filing of returns and availing of other related services for the taxpayers.
(NA)