Five more NBR officials under ACC scanner

The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has launched an investigation into allegations of corruption and irregularities against five more officials of the National Board of Revenue (NBR).

On Thursday, the anti-graft watchdog disclosed the matter in a press release.

The individuals under the ACC scanner are – Benapole Custom House Commissioner Md Kamruzzaman, Dhaka (East) Customs, Excise and VAT Commissionerate Kazi Muhammad Ziauddin, Income Tax Intelligence and Investigation Unit’s Additional Commissioner of Taxes (current charge) Sehela Siddiqua, Deputy Commissioner of Taxes Md Mamun Mia, and Tax Inspector Lokman Ahmed.

Sehela Siddiqua served as the secretary general of the NBR Reform Unity Council that led the demonstrations last month, demanding the removal of the NBR chairman.

According to the ACC press release, dishonest officials are facilitating tax evasion in exchange for bribes during tax and duty collection.

There are allegations that business owners and NBR officials reduce the payable tax amounts instead of collecting the actual amount for their own benefit.

As a result, the government is being deprived of a huge amount of revenue every year. In some instances, when bribes are not paid, officials resort to harassing business owners by filing false tax evasion cases against them, read the release.

The ACC said that many taxpayers pay advance taxes and some even pay more than required. As per the rules, if excess tax is paid, the surplus amount must be refunded to the taxpayer after proper calculation.

However, analysis of data and complaints from individuals concerned reveal that to get the excess tax refunded, taxpayers often have to spend at least half the amount in bribes or gifts.

There are allegations that responsible tax officials themselves pocket large sums of money while processing these refunds, it said.