Tax Consultants in Bangladesh

Taxation has long been one of the most critical and complex compliance issues for both business organisations and individual taxpayers in Bangladesh. The government is now stricter than ever about collecting tax and VAT as a source of revenue, and it continues to look for every possible way to broaden the tax base.

The cost of non-compliance

If a business or an individual fails to comply with the prevailing taxation rules, they risk facing severe financial penalties. This is precisely why large and successful organisations take care to comply with taxation and related laws. Yet even well-resourced organisations sometimes struggle to handle a difficult taxation scenario efficiently, often because of confusion or a misunderstanding of the law. As a result, both businesses and individual taxpayers turn to tax consultancy firms for help with compliance.

Who provides tax consultancy in Bangladesh

Tax consultants advise — and act as agents or principals on behalf of — their clients, helping them remain compliant with rules and regulations while staying in a favourable position. In Bangladesh, tax consultancy is offered by professionals from a range of backgrounds, including:

• Chartered Accountants
• Cost and Management Accountants (CMA)
• Income Tax Practitioners (ITP)
• Advocates
• Retired government income tax officers

The range of services

Tax consultants provide a wide range of services with due diligence and in a professional manner, including:

• Income tax planning
• Filing income tax returns and withholding tax returns
• Obtaining TIN certificates
• Handling transfer pricing matters
• Filing for and obtaining permission relating to tax holidays, and handling tax assessment matters
• Filing cases, acting as a tax lawyer and providing advocacy on taxation matters
• Obtaining VAT registration and filing monthly VAT returns
• Providing general advice and guidance on taxation matters

Consultants are particularly effective in areas such as income tax filing, annual assessment and advocacy before the appellate tribunal.

The rise of tax planning

Income tax planning has become one of the most important issues for large business organisations, given their high volume of day-to-day transactions and the complex nature of their operations. The mode of tax planning is constantly evolving as provisions in income tax and value added tax change and expand.

Large and successful businesses now want a new dimension of tax planning that addresses areas such as the structuring of salaries and perquisites, dividend policy, investment and finance decisions, purchasing policy, transfer pricing, tendering, tax holidays, CSR and even the location of production facilities — all aimed at coping with the changing environment and securing the best benefit while complying with tax law.

This represents a significant opportunity for tax consultants and adds real value to their professional profile. Consultants who develop and practise in this area of tax planning are best placed to put their clients in the strongest possible position.