NBR writes to energy ministry seeking info on unlawfully employed foreign workers

The National Board of Revenue (NBR) has written to the Energy and Mineral Resources Division seeking visa status and numbers of the international workers and officials employed by them.

The Board also wanted to know if there were employees under the Division’s projects without work permit.

As a number of workers are employed in Bangladesh’s energy sector under A3 Visa, NBR could not incorporate them in their tax net. Therefore, the revenue collector wrote to the Division on 29 October to register them as per rules so that NBR can collect income tax from those people.

NBR said in the letter that they will have to collect Tk 1,22,100 crore in revenue in the current fiscal year (2022- ’23) to implement the vision of the government until 2041.

NBR’s letter was supposed to address Senior Secretary to the Power Division of the Ministry of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources, Habibur Rahman. However, the letter has addressed the Personal Secretary (Deputy Secretary) of the senior secretary.

Incumbent PS Kazi Shajahan said, “I am not aware of the letter and I am not the right person to be sought for the issue.”

He also said that he doesn’t know how many foreigners are working in the energy sector.

Senior Secretary Habibur Rahman did not respond to the call made by this correspondent.

Joint secretary (operation) and additional secretary (Admin) also do not know the number and visa status of the foreign workers and officials.

NBR thinks those people have taxable income and should be brought under their tax net.

It has been customary that some people are coming to Bangladesh with tourist, business, on arrival and student visas and start working in some sectors without permission of Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (BIDA).

According to section 16(B) of the Income Tax Ordinance 1984, unlawfully employed workers are subject to a fine of Tk 5,00,000 or they will have to pay 50 percent more tax than their actual tax.

Under Section 165 (C), these workers could even be imprisoned for 3 years including a fine Tk 5,00,000.

Mahmudur Rahman, Member, Taxes Legal and Enforcement department of the NBR said, “Not only the energy sector, we have written to all the government and private organisations asking them to let us know about their foreign workers. We would like to collect income tax from them.”

Letter requested those organisations to register the foreign workers with the appropriate authority.