Mala Doulot Akter

Bangladesh

Special Correspondent at The Financial Express (Bangladesh)

Doulot Akter Mala is a trailblazing journalist hailing from Bangladesh. Post graduated in journalism and won several awards.

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Articles

Pvt provident funds struggle to navigate tax filing maze

Nov 28, 2023 | thefinancialexpress.com.bd | Mala Doulot Akter

The revenue board's existing electronic system has yet to incorporate any option to register private-sector provident funds as taxpayers even though 27.5-percent tax levied on them since June 22, 2023. Although private provident funds are considered separate taxpayers, they are unable to obtain an electronic Taxpayers Identification Number (e-TIN) or tax registration due to the absence of a mechanism in the current system linked to the National Identification Number (NID) servers.
Cumulative un-deposited VAT balloons to Tk 243.76 billion

Nov 24, 2023 | thefinancialexpress.com.bd | Mala Doulot Akter

A cumulative amount of VAT collected from consumers but not deposited with the exchequer has ballooned to Tk 243.76 billion, with a government-owned corporate holding back a king's ransom. The revenue board's effort to realise arrears in value-added tax (VAT) from the state-owned Petrobangla has not progressed in the last seven years for inaction on part of the Ministry of Finance in this regard, official sources said.
Shippers dismiss fraud prevention mechanism as unworkable

Nov 20, 2023 | htsyndication.com | Mala Doulot Akter

Dhaka, Nov. 20 -- Shippers dismiss as unworkable a short timeline for registering detailed export documentation digitally under Export General Manifest devised as a mechanism for preventing trade-based money laundering. Submission of the EGM within 72 hours of cargo-ship departure from the port has been made mandatory by the customs authority, incidentally following the detection of 'false export' by some 'ghost' or shell corporations.
Shippers dismiss fraud prevention mechanism as unworkable

Nov 19, 2023 | thefinancialexpress.com.bd | Mala Doulot Akter

Shippers dismiss as unworkable a short timeline for registering detailed export documentation digitally under Export General Manifest devised as a mechanism for preventing trade-based money laundering. Submission of the EGM within 72 hours of cargo-ship departure from the port has been made mandatory by the customs authority, incidentally following the detection of 'false export' by some 'ghost' or shell corporations.
Basic Bank scam: Businesses fret over container terminal teething troubles

Nov 15, 2023 | thefinancialexpress.com.bd | Mala Doulot Akter

Slow progress in making the Patenga Container Terminal (PCT) operational has disappointed the businesses as they could not reap its benefits despite completion of construction, industry-insiders have said. Construction of the container terminal, inaugurated by the Prime Minister on Tuesday, was completed one and a half years ago, at a cost of Tk 12.29 billion, but appointment of its contractors has yet to be completed by the port authority.
No scope for conflict of interest between income tax practitioners, agents

Nov 15, 2023 | thefinancialexpress.com.bd | Mala Doulot Akter

There is hardly any scope for conflict of interest between the income-tax practitioners and tax-return preparers (TRPs) as the latter are not authorised representatives of the taxpayers, taxmen said. The TRPs or tax agents are not entitled to attend hearings before the taxmen. They can only prepare and submit tax returns on behalf of the taxpayers by using the online portal (etaxnbr.gov.bd) of the National Board of Revenue (NBR).
Tariff cuts cannot tame market as businesses make hay

Nov 12, 2023 | thefinancialexpress.com.bd | Mala Doulot Akter

Tariff cuts proved a damp squib in stemming commodity-price rises as revenue authorities feel business cartels make the most of the facility meant for distraught consumers. Intended impact of the tariff readjustments is in doubt amid price rises of all commodities-be that local or imported-and that prompts the government's revenue board to begin a crosscheck to determine whether the benefits are being passed on to the consumers.
Heavy tax liability drives away taxpayers, increases defaulters

Nov 12, 2023 | thefinancialexpress.com.bd | Mala Doulot Akter

A regressive direct-tax measure discourages many who missed deadlines in previous years from submitting returns for fear of bloated tax liability as a punishment for noncompliance, be it intentional or unintentional. Many taxpayers, both corporate and individual, have said they would not be able to file returns with huge taxes, often over 500 times in some cases.
Foregone corporate taxes surpass actual collection

Nov 8, 2023 | thefinancialexpress.com.bd | Mala Doulot Akter

Bloated tax-related expenditure outstrips actual collection of direct tax from corporates in Bangladesh. The latest official count shows a tax expenditure of Tk 853.14 billion in the 2020-21 fiscal while receipt was Tk 852.24 billion. The due amount the exchequer lost out on account of the tax expenditure (TE) shown by the corporations was equivalent to 2.41 per cent of country's gross domestic product (GDP) in the financial year 2020-21.
Chittagong Chamber holds workshop on digital tax return submission

Nov 8, 2023 | thefinancialexpress.com.bd | Mala Doulot Akter

The Chittagong Chamber Of Commerce and Industry (CCCI) and SMAC IT Limited jointly organised a workshop on how to submit personal tax returns digitally. The workshop was held at the Bangabandhu Conference Hall of the World Trade Centre in Chattogram on Tuesday. The event was chaired by President of CCCI Omar Hazzaz , with Tax Commissioner of Chattogram Tax Zone-3 Dr Ikhtiaruddin Md Mamun as the guest of honour.