New taxpayers to get extended deadline up to June 30

First-time individual taxpayers will get an extended deadline up to  June 30 2023 for submitting their tax returns.

National Board of Revenue (NBR) has offered the extended deadline for new taxpayers this year in a bid to help them submit tax returns without penalty.

The  NBR explained the detailed measures on income-tax provisions for the current fiscal year in the Income Tax Circular-2022 issued on Wednesday.

According to it, individual taxpayers have to pay 2.0-per cent penalty per month in case of their failure to meet the deadline.

According to tax officials, the NBR has amended the definition of 'tax day' in the current fiscal budget for new taxpayers.

In FY 2022-23, the NBR made submission of proof of a tax return slip mandatory for obtaining nearly 40 types of services, including opening and continuing bank accounts, and utility services.

A senior tax official said the fiscal measure would be a boon for the government to bring a large number of taxpayers under the tax net.

Currently, an estimated 2.4 million out of 7.8-million taxpayer identification number (TIN) holders submit tax returns.

From this fiscal, TIN-holders would not be able to obtain necessary services without submitting their tax return slips, he added.

In case of not submitting the slip, the circular says, tax will be deducted at a rate of 50 per cent where deduction of tax at source is applicable.

Service providers must verify the authenticity of tax return slips entering into a website prior to providing the services, mentioned the official.

In case of detection of any fake taxpayer who obtained a particular service without submitting returns, the service provider would be penalised up to Tk 1.0 million by the taxman.

The NBR has developed a tax-return verification module for service-providing entities in recent times.