The deadline for filing individual income tax return has been extended, for a second time, to Nov 12, setting to rest speculations on Sunday. The National Board of Revenue in a circular confirmed the extension. The NBR extended the deadline by one month on Sep 29. As the Oct 31 deadline falls on a weekend day, Saturday, returns were to be received until 8pm on Sunday.

Income tax law stipulates that individual tax payers can submit their returns up to September-end, but deadline is invariably extended every year. Last year, the deadline was extended twice to Nov 30. Finance minister A M A Muhith told reporters at his office earlier on Sunday that a decision about the deadline extension will be made in the late afternoon. "Let's see how many tax returns are submitted at first." "But personally I think the deadline should not be extended," he said after a meeting with NBR chairman Nasiruddin Ahmed.

Nasiruddin told bdnews24.com on Saturday that the deadline would not be extended further under any circumstances. "A huge number have submitted their returns towards the end of deadline. The offices were overflowing with people on Saturday," he said. He said similar numbers are expected to submit their returns on the last day, Sunday. Returns would be received until 8pm, he added. "The tax payers this year will far outnumber the 7.39 lakh of last year," the NBR chief said. The number of TIN holders in the country is over 22 lakh. Seven lakh and 39 thousand returns were submitted last year. NBR is expecting that this year it will be more than that.

According to the data of NBR, there are over 22 lakh tax identification numbers in the country. The number of TIN holders in the country is over 22 lakh. A total of Tk 13,812.16 crore was earned from individual income tax returns in the last fiscal year while the target for revenue earnings from the sector is Tk 16,500 crore in the current fiscal year. The government says it wants to take the number to Tk 20,000 crore.

-The Independent