Md. Abdur Rahman Khan, Chairman of the National Board of Revenue (NBR), has advised companies to lodge formal complaints against field-level NBR workers and to not put up with any misconduct on their part.
“We’ve issued clear instructions about the law, yet some field officers don’t follow them. And some of the blame lies with you professionals — why do you tolerate it?” he asked.
Md. Abdur Rahman said this during a meeting with Foreign Investors’ Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) member companies at the NBR headquarters in the capital’s Agargaon. Businesses and taxpayers were reminded by the NBR Chairman that government officials are public servants and their salaries are paid for with tax money.
Businesses should actively report misconduct through the board’s grievance redress system, which is now available online on the NBR website, NBR’s Chairman urged. He also stated that they can file complaints online explaining what happened and what they tried to do. Thereafter, an inquiry will be conducted and disciplinary action will be taken.
Hinting at the fact that disciplinary actions are already taking place, he said, “We receive a lot of information through various channels. But if you don’t raise your voice, the situation will never improve.”
Companies at the event expressed similar worries, stating that they are still confused by anomalies at the field level.
Outward payments, double taxation agreements and corporate or VAT compliance were the three main issues for the majority of members, according to Md. Mahbub ur Rahman, CEO of HSBC Bangladesh, though the degree of significance differed.
“Most of our members’ home countries have double taxation agreements with Bangladesh, so clear guidance from the NBR on their implementation is needed,” he stated.
He cautioned against harassing and capricious tax collection and encouraged revenue personnel to adopt a different perspective.
He expressed hope that overseas investors will benefit from the upcoming official English translation of all three legislations. He confirmed, “Hopefully, very soon, all three laws — the income tax law, the customs law and the VAT law — will be officially available in English.”
