Tax collections way behind target

Revenue collection grew by over 7 percent in the first nine months of the current fiscal year 2020-21, but it is still way behind the target, according to the National Board of Revenue (NBR).

Data show the NBR collected Tk178,263 crore as revenues during July-March period of the ongoing fiscal year, which is 54 percent of the target set at the beginning of the year. The NBR collected Tk166,117 crore for the same period a year ago.

The government has given the NBR a revenue collection target of Tk330,000 crore.

“We have taken a number of steps, such as online submission of VAT return, to boost revenue collection. As the pandemic has affected business and economic activities, revenue collection has also been hit hard,” a senior NBR official told the Business Insider Bangladesh on Thursday.

The NBR collected Tk53,989 crore from customs duty in the last nine months from July to March. At the same time it collected Tk68,470 crore from VAT and supplementary duty and Tk52,849 crore from income tax and travel tax, according to the NBR.