Dhaka: The National Board of Revenue (NBR) is going to intensify its tax surveys, inspections, monitoring and realization as the revenue collection growth of its Income Tax Wing in November had been a little bit slower compared to the Customs and VAT wings.

‘The Board has already directed all the field offices to intensify and strengthen their respective tax surveys to have a justified growth with other wings,’ an NBR official told UNB.

The NBR on November showed a significant 23.34 growth in revenue collection. During the last month, the collection for the national exchequer was Tk 12,068 crore which was Tk 9,729.87 crore during the same period of the last fiscal.

The revenue collection growth for the first five months of the current fiscal is almost 14 percent, which was 10.44 percent in the first four months of the running fiscal.

According to the NBR statistics, the highest growth in November was attained by VAT wing with 32.49 percent. Customs Wing registered 26.72 percent while the lowest growth was attained by Income Tax Wing with 10.77 percent.

The NBR has got a gigantic target of Tk 176,370 crore revenue collection for the 2015-16 fiscal against Tk 135,028 last year.

This year, the target was set to collect Tk 64,971 crore from income tax, while Tk 64,262 crore from VAT and Tk 18,752 from import duty. The target for export duty has been fixed at Tk 37 crore, excise duty at Tk 1,239 crore and supplementary duty at Tk 25,875.

‘We aren’t frustrated with the Income Tax Wing…it’ll be back on the right track after December,’ the NBR official said.

He mentioned that the time for paying tax installment for the second half is after December. ‘So, the collection for the Income Tax Wing will be in a good position.’

As part of the intensifying the tax survey information of flat and house owners of Gulshan, Banani, Uttara and other posh areas of the capital city will be gathered.

The eligible but not enlisted persons will be given electronic tax identification number (e-TIN) instantly. ‘Proper directives have been given to the field level officials,’ the NBR official said.

The persons who will get the new e-TIN will have to submit their income tax returns of the running fiscal (2015-16)

Punitive measures will be taken against the e-TIN holders who did not submit their income tax return or apply for time extension.

Meanwhile, the income tax wing of the NBR simultaneously started survey in their 31 tax zones across the country from November 24. The

tax commissioners are leading the teams of their respective areas. A five-member team under the leadership of the tax commissioner is conducting the door-to-door survey in each zone.

According to the plan, the field offices will have to find out at least 20,000 new and potential taxpayers from each zone, the NBR official said.

The NBR team will visit houses, shops and other commercial establishments in the city’s posh areas to find out the potential taxpayers. The officials will take support from service agencies to scrutinise information related to income, wealth and property of the potentially eligible taxpayers.

The survey teams are collecting information related to national identity card, trade licence and other business documents from people having income from house or business properties and from service or other professions.

Finance Minister AMA Muhith in his budget speech stated that the government wanted to increase the tax base to three million by 2018.

Currently, the tax-GDP ratio of the country is just over ten percent. The corresponding figure is more than 15 per cent in the neighbouring countries.