Even NBR chairman fails to submit tax returns online due to automation issues

Newly-appointed Chairman of the National Board of Revenue Abdur Rahman Khan himself has been a victim of the weakness in NBR’s automation – an issue faced by taxpayers across the country – as he failed to submit his tax returns online for the second time.

During the inauguration ceremony of an online tax return service centre at the NBR office in the capital’s Agargaon today (23 September), the chairman said, “I had failed to submit my e-return last year. The same has happened this year too. Not only me, but my family members also faced the same problem.”

At the event, the NBR chairman identified the biometric problem of mobile phones as the primary cause of this failure.

“I have provided directions to the officials to talk with the mobile operators about this issue. Besides, I have also directed the NBR officials to find out the weaknesses in the service and solve those,” the chairman added.

There have been talks about online registration and tax return submission through NBR’s online portal for the last five years, but little progress has been made.

Currently, there are around 1.04 crore Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN) holders in the country, among whom only 40 lakh TIN holders submit tax returns.

Among the 40 lakh taxpayers, around four lakh people submit returns online.

The European Union is providing support to the e-TIN project.