Bangladesh has witnessed a rise in online income tax return submissions, with the number of e-returns increasing by more than 250% in the 2024-25 fiscal year, during the penalty-free period for filing income tax returns.

The digital tax filing system, developed by local technology firm Synesis IT, has seen over 14 lakh 32 thousand taxpayers submit their returns online according to the National Board of Revenue (NBR) on February 25, compared to approximately 5 lakh 26 thousand in the previous fiscal year.

As per NBR, more than 18 lakh 75 thousand taxpayers have registered for the system this year, marking a substantial increase in adoption. The success of the e-return system has been attributed to its user-friendly design and the government's push for digital tax governance.

In October 2024, Chief Advisor Muhammad Yunus encouraged the citizens to file tax returns online. During his video speech, he stated that the interim government has also made online income tax return mandatory for all government employees in Dhaka, Narayanganj, and Gazipur. Moreover, filing income tax returns online was made mandatory for all listed banks, mobile phone operators, and employees of many multinational companies.

NBR has also launched the facility of filing income tax returns online throughout the year. As a result, filing online income tax returns are increasing too.

Regarding the software system, Aminul Bari Shuvro, Chief Solution Officer of Synesis IT said, "We took this challenge through a capacity building program under the EU in 2020. Due to COVID-19 lockdown, the need for a proper online e-Return platform also increased. Within four months, we built a system for filing income tax returns online and the government implemented it in FY 2021-22. We also received help from a 6-member team from the NBR who helped us navigate through the complex legal frameworks of income tax laws."

Shuvro also added that humanising the softwares according to the socio-economic context of Bangladesh will increase more digital adaptation in the future.

The latest e-Return system follows the failure of a previous online tax system developed by Vietnam-based FPT Software in 2016, which was later discontinued due to low adoption rates.