Tk 4.76b tax realised through eTDS system

The government has collected around Tk 4.76 billion (476 crore) tax under the Electronic Tax Deducted at Source (eTDS) system over the last eight months after the automated system was launched in the country last year, reports BSS.

The National Board of Revenue (NBR) developed such mechanism so that the tax at source deducted from various entities could easily be deposited to the state coffers.

The entire system has been made online-based or automated under the title “eTDS” which was launched on 6 October last year.

So far some 5,560 firms have been registered with the eTDS system.

With the introduction of such system, no one needs to go to the income tax offices to deposit tax at source. The concerned organisations and firms can easily deposit their tax at source to the state exchequer through automated Challan (A Challan) while staying at their respective offices.

Currently tax at source is being collected from some 53 sources including banks, multinational companies and universities.

Commissioner of the Taxes Zone 6 Mohammad Zahid Hasan informed this at a webinar on eTDS system held on Tuesday evening. Taxes Zone 6 and audit firm SMAC HRS Limited jointly organised the webinar.

Zareen M. Hosein, Chairman of SMAC HRS Ltd, welcomed the guests and participants who attended the webinar. She also gave brief introduction about SMAC HRS Ltd on its payroll solution and tax awareness programme.

Officials of eTDS gave a live presentation on the eTDS system to some 650 participants who joined the discussion.

SMAC IT Ltd gave a short presentation on Taxdo, a software for online return filing and its features.

Speaking as a panel discussant, FBCCI President Md Jashim Uddin said such a digitalisation move is very welcoming. However, he urged NBR to reduce the number of items from TDS.

Jashim also urged NBR to arrange adequate training for the businesses before implementation of such a system. He said that the government bodies are taking a lot of positive initiatives, but these are not disseminated to businesses. He also emphasised digitalisation of NBR.

During the panel discussion, Tahrin Aman, President NCCI, appreciated the initiative as this will reduce the cost of doing business for Bangladeshi companies.

Nurul Kabir, Executive Director of Foreign Investors Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) emphasised bringing all banks under A Challan system to make it fully automated and bring down the manual filing of TDS return.

ICAB President Shahadat Hossian thanked NBR for bringing such a system after introduction of DVS in partnership with ICAB. He said this will reduce the burden of accountants to a great extent.

He urged the NBR to develop a comprehensive integrated IT system which will have a long-term strategy. The whole NBR operation requires automation so that audit selection, assessment, appeal, tribunal processes are automated gradually.

Shahadat said NBR also needs to integrate with other government, semi-government associations so that information can be automatically linked with ETIN holders. He also emphasized on deployment of IT specialist, adequate budget for hardware, software and its maintenance.

Pradut K. Sarker said that provision for online tax payment is already part of the law and initiative has been taken to legalise the usage of eTDS. “NBR will set up call center and is also in the process of developing integrated online system,” he said.

Snehasish Barua, Director of SMAC HRS Ltd moderated the session.

Later, the question-and-answer session was moderated by the Commissioner of Taxes Zone 6 Jahid Hasan.