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The National Board of Revenue (NBR) is going to launch the payment of large amounts of tax through mobile financial services (MFS) to simplify tax payments by corporates.
The country's largest MFS provider, bKash's online merchant wallet, will be used to facilitate tax payments.
The new facility is set to be introduced today at the NBR through a demonstration.
Talking to The Financial Express, Secretary of the Internal Resources Division (IRD) and NBR Chairman Md Abdur Rahman Khan said the system would help expedite the payment of large amounts of taxes by corporate taxpayers using MFS, instead of visiting banks.
"Currently, many corporate taxpayers use MFS to pay salaries to their staff. They will be able to deposit source tax after the introduction of large-value transactions in MFS," he added.
Mr Khan said other MFS providers are also allowed to offer large-value transactions for tax payments. "Any amount of tax payment would now be at the fingertips of taxpayers. The move aims to further digitise tax collection and improve the ease of doing business."
The service enables the payment of withholding tax through the NBR's e-TDS system and value-added tax (VAT) through the Finance Division's A-Challan System (ACS), using the online merchant wallet developed by bKash Limited.
Officials said the integration of mobile banking into the tax payment system would enhance transparency, reduce transaction time and costs, and encourage greater voluntary compliance, particularly for large-value transactions.
The move is part of the government's broader effort to modernise revenue administration through digital platforms and expand cashless transactions across public financial services.
Earlier, bKash used to allow a specific transaction ceiling. Tax payments through MFS are simpler than those through banks.
A senior NBR official at the e-TDS wing said the charges on high-value tax transfers through bKash are likely to be waived.
"As bKash reached out to the NBR with its offer, the tax authorities responded positively and decided to launch the facility after a demonstration at an event. The MFS will show some high-value tax payments on its portal today," he added.
Moinuddin Mohammed Rahgir, chief financial officer (CFO) of bKash, said bKash has launched a specialised tax payment modality for corporate and business entities to bring a profound change to the tax payment system.
"Through this payment channel, taxes, duties and other government levies can be paid 24/7 from anywhere by transferring money from a bank or disbursement wallet, completely free of charge."
He added that the major advantage of this system over existing ones is that all tax, excise and VAT payments can be made at any time, without the limitation of banking hours or the need for physical visits to banks.
"It aims to provide corporate bodies with a seamless experience in paying taxes conveniently from their workplaces," he also said.
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