NBR plans Tk 532cr project for six buildings in six regions

The National Board of Revenue (NBR) plans to undertake a Tk 532 crore project for infrastructure development outside the capital in order to safeguard taxpayers' files and expand the tax net to collect more revenue.

The NBR recently sent a proposal to the Planning Commission to construct six buildings in three divisions -- Sylhet, Barishal and Rangpur -- and three districts -- Dinajpur, Noakhali and Brahmanbaria.

The project aims to centralise 86 offices -- including circle offices, appeal offices and commissionerate offices -- from four tax zones in those six buildings to ensure smooth tax collection activities, according to documents.

The move comes at a time when the tax administration is failing to meet its annual revenue generation target, something economists and businesses have long been blaming on the weak tax net across the country.

Although Dhaka and Chattogram account for the lion's share of taxes, a significant portion is collected from Sylhet, Barishal, Rangpur and Cumilla, according to NBR officials.

The project has been taken up to increase revenue collection by speeding up work, creating a conducive environment and providing more services to taxpayers, they said.

The three year project will be implemented jointly by the NBR and Public Works Department (PWD) and is expected to be completed by June 2026.

Currently, the NBR is mostly operating in rented buildings outside Dhaka. As it is facing difficulty in providing services in rented buildings, it has moved to construct the offices, according to officials.

"We want to protect taxpayers' documents, provide better services to taxpayers and put in a place a better working condition for our officials," said Niaz Morshed, a joint commissioner of the NBR and the focal point officer of the project.

The six buildings will host a total of 86 offices and will help accelerate the automation process, he said.

The NBR has proposed Tk 283.68 crore for the construction of office infrastructure and substations across 58,932 square metres.

Almost 25 percent of the total cost relates to external electrification, according to documents.

It also proposed Tk 2 crore for the purchase of three inspection vehicles, including a jeep, microbus and a double cabin pickup, for its project director and PWD.

The NBR plans to spend Tk 22.76 crore to purchase furniture and Tk 14.20 crore for water supply and sanitation work.

The planning commission recently held a review meeting about the project.

A team from the planning commission has also visited the places and given some observations to the NBR, said a planning commission official, seeking anonymity.

In the feasibility study for the proposed project, five of the project areas, bar Noakhali, were identified as areas prone to waterlogging. Besides, Sylhet is an earthquake-prone region.

As such, the review meeting raised questions about the rationale of selecting areas prone to waterlogging and earthquakes.

The NBR has proposed the construction of 5-10-storey tax offices and dormitories in Barishal, Sylhet and Rangpur and 3-7-storey buildings in Dinajpur, Brahmanbaria and Noakhali.

The review committee also made observations on the need of such multi-storey buildings at divisional and district levels.