Info holdback on tax evasion by tycoons deprives exchequer of billions

Information holdback on bank accounts of certain tycoons for the investigation into suspected tax evasion deprives the public exchequer billions of taka, revenue officials said.

Revenue sleuths reveal the findings, now that a crackdown on financial and other offences goes on following a regime change through the July-August uprising.

Tax intelligence team has aired concern over the existing bottlenecks on conducting investigation against the tax-evaders due to slow pace of bank-account details of the suspected ones.

Both the tax-intelligence unit and the Central Intelligence Cell (CIC) under the National Board of Revenue (NBR) raised this issue at an internal workshop to sensitize bankers on the necessity of speedy supply of bank-account data.

The Income Tax Intelligence and Investigation wing of the revenue board organised the workshop on the NBR premises Wednesday to bridge a communication gap between bankers and taxmen on exchange of information.

Recently, CIC served show-cause notices to managing directors of seven banks over dillydallying in the supply of account information.

Talking to The Financial Express, CIC Director-General Ahsan Habib said head of operations of all commercial banks were invited to the programme so that taxmen can work together smoothly.

"We have tried to give the message that accurate, timely delivery of bank-account data can help the taxmen recover evaded taxes for the public exchequer," he added.

Mohammad Abdur Rakib, tax commissioner at the income-tax intelligence and investigation unit, said the taxmen explained the legal provisions in the income-tax act as to how they are empowered legally to seek data and what the harsh measures are in case of failure or noncooperation by the banks.

"We usually try to avoid any punitive measures on delivery of data by banks. It is the last resort when all other efforts would not work," he added.

The CIC DG said not only from banks but taxmen were not getting data from land-registry offices in time also as the offices are not yet digitised fully.

Additional Commissioner of taxes of the unit Md Kamrul Hassan presented a paper at the awareness programme pointing out nine problems in getting bank-account details.

The hurdles: not delivering timely data, need to make phone call for getting data, delivery of partial data, mismanagement in sending data, not following formats, not giving summary or furnishing wrong summary, sending summary sheets sans signing, not giving bank-account data of proprietor account, not delivering sanction letter on loan account.

A branch manager of a commercial bank told the FE that it is an uphill task to compile account information and collect vouchers of previous transactions.

Speaking at the programme, NBR Chairman Abdur Rahman Khan said the tax intelligence needs sufficient data to work for tax recovery.

"Bankers are our major source and tax law has defined it," he said.

Automated supply of information is necessary to make data available by searching with NID, he added.

Income-tax member GM Kaikobad urged the bankers not to take this as additional burden but work for the state.

He informed that already investigations against 700 suspected tax-evaders are underway.

In the presentation, Additional Commissioner Md Kamrul Hassan said tax-intelligence team gives 20 to 25 days to furnish bank- account information but have to wait two three months for the delivery.

"It is a punishable offence in the tax law as domestic revenue mobilisation faced obstacles for such dillydallying," he reminded.

"In many cases, banks hide information or furnish false data, which is a criminal offence," he added.

Details of closed accounts, joint accounts are often not delivered to the taxmen, he deplored.

At the programme, the CIC direct-general said one bank statement comprises 2,400 pages with Tk 3.69-billion transactions but nil report has been furnished by banks.

Two sons of S Alam have whitened Tk 5.0 billion but banks have not furnished their account information yet. The CIC has blocked Tk 1.21 billion worth of deposit of a bank chairman.

doulotakter11@gmail.com