Online Desk: The National Board of Revenue (NBR) on Sunday launched an updated online tax return submission platform to facilitate individual taxpayers to comply with the November 30 deadline.

The portal would provide an extended facility this year, allowing all the taxpayers to file returns online and obtain the Proof of Submission of Returns (PSR) without visiting the tax offices.

Although the NBR is yet to establish full interconnectivity with the tax-deducting authorities, the taxpayers will be able to file their tax returns using the portal.

However, the NBR would accept the declaration form of taxpayers on source tax without verification in the first phase with the online tax returns.

Integration with the other source tax-deducting authorities to develop the portal’s tax calculation system by adjusting source taxes is a vital part in the online system, officials said.

Almost 99 per cent of the taxpayers have been paying source taxes in different entities due to expansion of withholding tax net, they added.

“It would take time to integrate the NBR’s e-return portal with millions of source tax deducting authorities including banks. Before the integration, the tax authority would allow statements of source tax deduction in a form with the e-return,” said a senior tax official.

He said that verification of source taxes remained absent in the online portal as the tax authorities are yet to complete integration with other entities authorised to deduct source taxes from the taxpayers.

“We would accept the source tax declaration forms with the e-return without verification, but any fake or false information with an intention to evade taxes would be subject to heavy penalty,” he said.

Tax officials would verify the source tax deduction later if the online tax file is selected for auditing, he said.

Until last year, only a marginal number of taxpayers with no other income could submit online tax returns as the e-return portal was incomplete.

The online tax return system has no such facility to calculate, verify and adjust the amount of source taxes.

Currently, the PSR is mandatory for obtaining 44 types of major services provided by different entities.

Taxpayers would get the PSR from the online tax return portal after submission of tax returns, the tax official said.

Taxpayers often allege that obtaining the PSR or tax certificates by visiting tax offices has some associated costs as they have to pay speed money to the staff or tax officials for these services.

Also, visiting the tax jurisdiction is also a troublesome job as tax offices are scattered across the country.

Tax officials said the e-return portal has been redesigned this year as per provisions of the new income tax law.

A number of provisions of the tax law have been changed, since July 1, 2023 until now, after it passed by the parliament. The online form also went through several changes to accommodate the amendments, the tax official said.

He said the e-return portal could be amended or updated in case any problem arises at the time of return submission.

Out of 3.4 million tax returns submitted last year, some 244,481 individuals submitted tax returns online.

Tax consultant Md Jahangir Alam, founder of Golden Bangladesh, said the NBR’s foot-dragging and indecisiveness regarding online tax returns has tarnished the taxpayers’ confidence.

The NBR tried several times to launch the online tax return system, but its sequential impact has not been assessed, he said.

There is no campaign and training to popularise the online submission of returns to encourage taxpayers, he added.

The portal was half-hearted and framed without sufficient research, resulting in poor responses, he said.