Business Report:

National Board of Revenue witnessed a huge crowd in the income tax fair venues across the country on Wednesday, the second day of the weeklong fair, with filing of tax returns and payment of tax setting records.

In the two days of the fair, 1,11,451 taxpayers filed their income tax returns, up 58.33 per cent on 70,392 taxpayers in the first two days of last year’s fair.
NBR received Tk 769.58 crore in income tax in the two days from the taxpayers with returns filed at the fair venues across the country including the central one set up at Officers’ Club in Dhaka.

A record 3.50 lakh people, up 50.68 per cent on the previous year, also visited the fair venues at eight divisional cities in Dhaka, Chattogram, Barishal, Khulna, Rangpur, Sylhet, Rajshahi and Mymensingh, and other districts and upazillas in the two days. In last year, NBR received Tk 751 crore in income tax from 70,392 taxpayers in the first two days of the fair while 2.32 lakh visited the fair venues.

On the second day alone, NBR got Tk 551 crore in income tax from 65,050 taxpayers while 2.36 lakh people received tax-related services.
On the second day of last year’s fair, 39,351 taxpayers paid Tk 543 crore in income tax with tax returns and another 1.53 lakh received tax-related services.

On 14 November, the fair was held in eight divisional cities, 35 districts and 19 upazillas.
NBR, however, witnessed a slower turnout in late hours on the second day at the central venue following a violent clash between the police and the Bangladesh Nationalist Party leaders and activists in the capital.

Officials of NBR said that the fair attracted huge crowd in the morning but the number of visitors declined significantly afternoon at the Officers’ Club venue. The clash that broke out at noon in front of the BNP office at Naya Paltan in the city affected the turnout as many people might change their decision to visit the fair to avoid any trouble, they said.

Despite the disruption, a huge number of people visited the fair to submit tax returns and pay tax at the fair.
Taxpayers said that the best thing at the fair was to get the acknowledgement slip instantly after filing tax returns.

NBR chairman Md Mosharraf Hossain Bhuiyan said that they would ensure similar environment at offices like fair venues.
‘We will not tolerate any harassment of taxpayers at tax offices,’ he said at a quiz competition organised by Tax Education Forum at Officers’ Club as part of the fair.
The fair venues will remain open from 9:00am to 5:00pm until November 19.