Automated challan system was launched here today to ease the existing system of depositing money through treasury challans for reducing sufferings of the clients, checking deposition of fake challans and averting the trend of tax evasion.
National Board of Revenue (NBR) Chairman Abu Hena Md Rahmatul Muneem and Finance Division Senior Secretary Abdur Rouf Talukder jointly inaugurated the automated challan System this morning virtually which was innovated under the ‘Improvement of Public Financial Services Delivery through Implementation of BACS and iBAS++Scheme’ under the ‘Strengthening Public Financial Management Programme to Enable Service Delivery (SPFMS)’ Programme of the Finance Division, said a Finance Ministry press release.
The release said this system would ensure deposition of money to the state Coffer through challans in due time as through this automated challan system, anyone would be able to deposit the money of treasury challans at Bangladesh Bank or any other branch of the commercial banks.
Currently, the amount of treasury challans is being deposited at nine branches of Bangladesh Bank and also to some 1,224 branches of Sonali Bank Ltd.
Besides, the clients will also be able to deposit the money of treasury challans through online banking and mobile financial system as well as through cash, cheques and account debit.
In case of depositing money through cash, online banking or mobile financial system, the clients will get copies of their challans immediately. In case of depositing money through cheques, the clients will get slips subject to the clearance of their cheques. The clients will get text messages in their mobiles at every tier of issuance of cheques and challans.
Regarding deposition of money through online banking or mobile financial system, the amount will directly be deposited to the state Coffer through Real Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) of the Bangladesh Bank.
The automated challans System will be implemented across the country in three phases. In the first phase, it will be implemented at all the branches of the four state-owned banks namely Sonali, Janata, Agrani and Rupali at Dhaka metropolis. In the 2nd phase, this system will be implemented at all the branches of commercial banks at Dhaka metropolis while lastly it will be implemented across the country through all the commercial bank branches.
The operations of this system today began through depositing income taxes of individual and company level under the tax zone-4 in Dhaka. It will be possible to deposit some 196 types of revenues and fees through this system including VAT, land registration and car registration fees.
The release said if this automated challan system could be implemented in full-scale, then it would be possible to bring in an epoch-making progress in the revenue management of the government side by side transparency and accountability will be ensured in the Revenue deposition system.
Besides, it will also help the government in determining its fiscal position and framing the debt management strategy.
Bangladesh Bank Deputy Governor Ahmed Jamal, NBR member (tax policy) M Alamgir Hossain, National Programme Director of SPFMS and Additional Secretary of the Finance Division (Budget-1) M Habibur Rahman, were present, among others, on the occasion.
