The tax authority Tuesday inspected another company as part of its ongoing drive to find out incidences of non-compliance in payment of pay-roll tax by the foreign employees working in the country.
They will inspect two more companies this month to ensure compliance by their respective foreign employees.
A team of a National Board of Revenue (NBR) taskforce earlier visited two companies in Dhaka and Chittagong last month.
Of the three companies, the tax zone-10 Tuesday inspected ZTE Corporation Bangladesh, a leading telecommunication equipment manufacturer and network solution provider of China with a turnover of US$ 4.5 billion in 2006.
The company delivers products and services to customers in more than 100 countries and more than 100 branches around the world.
Tax zone-6 in Dhaka is scheduled to visit YKK Bangladesh Ltd, a renowned zipper manufacturer, today while another one would be inspected by Tax zone-7, officials said.
The tax officials declined to disclose the name of the third company, however.
NBR member (legal and enforcement) Serazul Islam said the taxmen would see the documents and other relevant papers during the inspection.
"The employers will be held responsible for any non-compliance of tax payment by their respective foreign employees," he said.
The taskforce will inspect in phases some 30 to 40 companies where foreign workers are employed - based on information it has got about the foreign employees.
The team has already inspected Chevron, a US-based oil and gas company, and Jay Jay Mills in Chittagong Export Processing Zone.
"We have found those two companies compliant. They are following NBR's guideline on tax-related matters and pay-roll of their foreign employees," said Mr Islam, head of the taskforce for detecting tax evasion by foreign employees.
During the visits to the companies, the team scrutinised salary documents, attendance sheet and some other documents inside office, he added. However, the tax authority informed the companies prior to their visit to help them get preparation, he said.
The NBR's motive is not to create panic but to ensure legal compliance, he added.
Mr Islam said the number of foreign workers in many companies declined significantly after the Holey Artisan Café attack in Gulshan, Dhaka.
He claimed that the foreign workers, who are working in Bangladesh after obtaining approval of the Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (BIDA), were mostly complaint.
However, there were many foreign nationals came to Bangladesh through obtaining tourist visa but working without necessary permits and with the help of their employers.
Earlier, the NBR issued a public notice informing all the companies to maintain compliance on pay-roll status of the foreign employees by October 15 this year. As per the notice, the NBR taskforce launched the company inspection from last month.
According to the income tax ordinance 1984, foreign workers have to pay 30 per cent tax on their income. However, there is no tax-free threshold in Bangladesh for the foreigners.
If any foreign worker, artist or technician leaves the country without payment of tax, the companies concerned will be responsible for the tax evasion.
The tax official said some foreign nationals came as tourists while some others for installation of machinery and some as artists or performers. Any foreigner staying more than 90 days in the country will have to pay tax on their income.
There is no specific data on foreign workers employed in the country. According to the NBR, however, some 14,000 foreign nationals have Taxpayers Identification Number (TIN).
Officials said the names of the companies for inspection have been finalised based on proposals from the field offices of tax.
doulot_akter@yahoo.com