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The National Board of Revenue (NBR) has opened a special helpdesk to facilitate submission of online income-tax returns on holidays by individuals intending to contest the upcoming national parliamentary elections.
The initiative will allow prospective candidates to file their e-returns even on weekly holidays, helping them meet mandatory tax compliance requirements ahead of nomination deadlines, said an NBR press release.
The dedicated helpdesk has been set up by the NBR's e-Tax Management Unit at its office at the Institution of Engineers, Bangladesh (IEB) in Dhaka. It will provide aspirant candidates with technical and procedural assistance related to online return submission.
The help desk will remain open on December 26 (Friday) from 2:00 pm to 5:00 pm and on December 27 (Saturday) from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm.
Such special services will also be available during regular office hours on December 28 and December 29, according to the revenue authorities.
NBR officials said the move is aimed at easing compliance pressure on election aspirants amid tight schedules and holiday constraints.
The initiative is expected to benefit a large number of hopeful candidates preparing documentation for the parliamentary polls.
On Sunday last, NBR Chairman Abdur Rahman Khan hinted that the income tax return submission deadline might be extended, as many registered taxpayers are yet to file their returns digitally.
"Once we see that a significant percentage of registered taxpayers have filed their returns, we will understand that most of the work has been completed. We expect around 1.5 million more taxpayers to submit their returns online," he said.
He added that the government may consider extending the deadline after reviewing the situation and holding discussions with the finance adviser.
According to the NBR chairman, around 4.2 million taxpayers have registered for online return submission, while more than 2.6 million have already filed their returns.
"This means around 1.5 to 1.6 million returns are still pending. Receiving all of the remaining tax returns within the next week may be difficult, especially as new registrations continue every day.
On an average, more than 15,000 taxpayers register daily for e-return submission," he said.
Earlier, the NBR extended the deadline for individual taxpayers to submit income tax returns by one month, allowing returns for the 2025-26 tax year to be filed until 31 December, instead of the original deadline of 30 November.
At present, taxpayers can submit online returns without uploading any documents. Upon paying income tax through any banking channel or mobile financial service, taxpayers receive an automated e-return acknowledgement instantly.
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