Outline of Modernization Plan (2011-2016) National Board of Revenue (NBR)

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Table of Contents

Executive Summary 1. NBR Modernization Plan

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2. Progress made by NBR in implementing the Plan 3. Indicative timeline

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Executive Summary The National Board of Revenue (NBR), as the central authority of tax policy and administration in Bangladesh, plays a critical part in the development of the country. During the current fiscal year (FY 2010-11), NBR is expected to collect Taka 75,600 crore, providing much needed support to the government‟s development efforts. In recent years, Bangladesh‟s tax collection has recorded an impressive growth averaging 20% per annum. Despite this good achievement, a lot remains to be done. Bangladesh‟s tax-GDP ratio at 9.3% remains quite low when compared with other similarly placed countries in South Asia. Less than 1% of the population pays income tax and tax evasion is persistent even though a significant amount of tax revenue is given up in the form of tax incentives. Together, curbing tax evasion and dealing with tax incentives could add 5 percentage points to the tax-GDP ratio, potentially adding about 40,000 crore to the revenue collection. Most of NBR‟s processes are manual and there is little in the nature of taxpayer service and taxpayer education. The NBR also faces problems in its functioning due to its current administrative structure. Despite being under the same board, the different wings of the NBR (Income Tax, Value Added Tax (VAT) and Customs) operate almost independently providing little support to each other in combating tax evasion and providing a unified front to taxpayers. Moreover, the NBR faces the problems of acute shortage of trained manpower as well as physical infrastructure. These weaknesses of the NBR have not gone well with the business community and individual taxpayers. In