NBR struggles to implement tax return automation project

The field offices are facing difficulties to complete the process of digitising manually submitted income tax returns within the stipulated timeframe due to inadequate manpower and logistic supports.

National Board of Revenue (NBR) had to extend the deadline for three times due to the slow progress of digitisation. Now, the fresh deadline for the automation is June 30, 2018.

The income tax offices have so far digitised around 60 per cent of the total returns received in the fiscal year 2016-17.

In the current fiscal year, the revenue authorities received some 1.55 million returns within the deadline of November 30 last while 0.27 million time petitions from across the country. They were expecting a total of 2.0 million returns until June 30, 2018.

Tax officials said it would be difficult for the field offices to get the job done by the deadline with having the returns submitted this FY, in addition to the last FY's pending 0.6 million or 40 per cent.

The income tax wing is running the activities with 70 per cent of its required manpower. Officials also blamed poor logistic support and IT back-up as the reasons for slow progress in digitisation of the returns.

"The income tax offices will have to convert the manually submitted tax returns into digital one by inserting the information by June 30, 2018 as per the extended deadline of the 'Bitax' project," said a senior tax official.

"It is a time consuming task. Tax officials are digitising the returns side by side their regular work," he said, adding that the job could be done through out-sourcing as regular work load of the tax officials increased due to different innovative motivational campaigns.

"We need back-up and upgradation of customised system so that the Bitax system can work smoothly," he said.

Also, much effort from the government high-ups is needed to expedite the automation, he said.

Tax officials also found a number of tax returns scattered in different tax zones across the country beyond their respective tax jurisdiction. Many of the field-level tax officials said they have to find out some tax files submitted to other tax jurisdictions.

"After expansion of the income tax department, jurisdictions of many taxpayers were reshuffled," said a senior tax commissioner.

Tax returns of a number of tax payers remained under other tax zones, causing problems to digitise the files, he added.

As per taxpayers identification number (TIN), the taxpayers are supposed to come under a particular zone on the basis of their nature of profession and business.

The NBR has brought doctors, lawyers, bank officers and some other individual taxpayers under separate tax zones after expansion of the tax department.

Talking to the FE, NBR member Kalipada Halder said some of the tax jurisdictions including Rangpur, Khulna, Mymensing and Sylhet have completed major work of digitising the tax returns. Rest of the tax files will be digitised soon.

Rangpur tax zone has digitised 61,000 returns, Khulna 63,000, Mymensing 45,000, Sylhet 47,323, Dhaka tax zone 4 around 62,000 and zone 15 around 30,000.

Once all of the returns are automated, the NBR would be able to audit the tax files to verify information of the previous years.

Although the NBR introduced online submission of tax returns, it received poor response from the taxpayers.

Currently, some 95 per cent of the taxpayers are submitting their returns manually.

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