The National Board of Revenue (NBR) today extended the deadline today for the submission of income tax returns for individual taxpayers by two months to the end of January next year.

The tax day would be observed on 31 January, 2024, for individual taxpayers instead of November 30, 2023, according to an order signed by Md Mohidul Islam Chowdhury, second secretary tax law at the NBR.

The tax administration considered the extension after trade bodies, including the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI), demanded more time since many taxpayers could not take preparations to file tax returns in line with the Income Tax Act-2023.

The previous deadline for the filing of income, expenditure and wealth statements without penalty was November 30.

The FBCCI said it would not be possible for many taxpayers to submit returns by the November 30 deadline due to the prevailing political situation and upcoming elections.

Earlier, the Chittagong Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI) also urged for an extension of the deadline to January 31.

The chamber said that the Income Tax Circular 2023-24 was published late and there was a lack of awareness among taxpayers about the new law, passed in June this year.

A senior official of the NBR said the tax authority considered an extension so taxpayers could file returns in compliance with the new law.

The NBR extended the deadline for income tax return submissions till December 31 last year.

Bangladesh has 94 lakh registered taxpayers. However, the number of return filers remains low.

Nearly 36 lakh taxpayers filed their income and expenditure statement in the year 2022-23, up 38 percent year-on-year from 25.9 lakh, NBR data showed.