Staff Correspondent:

National Board of Revenue (NBR) Chairman Md Abdur Rahman Khan on Thursday urged revenue officials to adopt a more empathetic approach toward businesses to support economic growth.

“If we are not empathetic towards businesspeople, the country’s economy will not thrive. I urge revenue officials to be understanding—this is the reality,” he said at a pre-budget meeting with business associations at the NBR conference room.

He said both under-taxation and excessive taxation are unjust and should be addressed.

“Unfortunately, we have overlooked these issues and failed to take action. That will change—we will now identify such matters and act accordingly,” he said.

He assured that the upcoming FY 2025-26 budget will be business-friendly, offering reasonable benefits while expanding the tax base to boost revenue collection.

He said while 1.13 crore people hold Taxpayer Identification Numbers (TINs), only 41 lakh have submitted returns. “We are monitoring tax evasion, reducing harassment, and closely tracing non-compliant taxpayers,” he added.

Highlighting the significant business activities in upazila and district-level growth centers, said many remain outside the tax net.

“Income tax offices have already started operations, and VAT commissionerates will soon follow. Field officials will visit these centers for registration, assessments, and payments—all through an online process. We seek support from business associations in this effort,” he said.

Responding to allegations of corruption at Chattogram Customs House, the NBR chairman directed officials to take strict action against offenders. “If anyone is caught red-handed, we will simply say—‘Thank you for your service,’ and remove them,” he warned.

He further revealed that NBR has recently scrapped multiple Statutory Regulatory Orders (SROs) on tax exemptions and confirmed that exemption SROs expiring in June 2025 will not be extended.