The revenue board will not host large-scale tax fair in Dhaka city this year too ahead of the deadline for submission of tax returns by individual payers.
Instead, the National Board of Revenue (NBR) will go for festive decorations in their respective tax zones to receive tax returns, officials said.
The NBR high-ups skipped holding tax fairs in 2020 and 2021 too due to the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic across the country.
Although the situation has normalised this year, it prefers not to hold large-scale tax fair as huge expenditure is involved with the event, said a senior tax official.
However, many individual taxpayers are still waiting for submitting their tax returns at fairs.
The NBR will open separate booths in separate tax zones from November 01 to 30.
The last date for submission of tax returns is November 30, which has been cited as 'tax day' in the Income Tax Ordinance-1984.
However, new taxpayers will be able to submit tax returns until 30 June 2023 without penalty.
A field-level official said tax zones are receiving tax returns in large numbers this year, thanks to a fiscal measure incorporated in the Finance Act-2022.
"We received eight times higher tax returns from individual taxpayers until the first week of October," he mentioned.
The new fiscal measure stipulates that people must show proof of tax return submission to avail 38 types of services, including opening and continuation of bank accounts, and utility connection.
The NBR held tax fair for the first time in 2010 and it continued until 2019.
But it had to discontinue the fair in 2020 and 2021 in a bid to avoid gathering during the unusual pandemic times. Talking to the FE, a number of individual taxpayers said they feel comfortable to submit tax returns at fair.
There is no harassment at tax fair and service delivery is faster, said Fakhrul Hossain, a retired banker.
"Every year, other members of my family and I wait for tax fair," he told the FE.
It is difficult for new taxpayers to find out their tax zones or circles as tax offices are scattered in the city, Mr Hossain observed.
Earlier, the NBR used to host the fair at a specific venue in Dhaka, either at Officers' Club (Bailey Road) or new NBR building (under-construction) at Agargaon.
The revenue board has 649 tax circles and 31 tax zones across the country.
