News Flash
DHAKA, Sept 14, 2025 (BSS) - Urging all concerned, including tax officials, lawyers, chartered accountants and company secretaries, to prioritize highly professionalism and transparency, Finance Adviser Dr Salehuddin Ahmed today called for ensuring more efficient and client-friendly taxpayer services.
"Please provide quick services, dispose of the cases of your clients quickly, make sure that your clients don't face hassle," he said, speaking as the chief guest at a programme to inaugurate the Tax Representative Management System (TRMS) software at the multipurpose hall of the National Board of Revenue (NBR) in the capital.
NBR Member Abu Hannan Delwar Hossain gave the address of welcome while Bangladesh Tax Lawyers Association (BTLA) President Ramiz Uddin Ahmed, ICMAB President Mahtab Uddin Ahmed, ICAB Vice President Md Rokonuzzaman and ICSB Vice President Mohammad Shafiqul Islam Bhuiyan also spoke.
Besides, a presentation was made by the TRMS technical team on various aspects of the system.
This software has been designed to provide scope for the income tax practitioners to submit tax returns for their clients through online system.
Terming TRMS as a 'milestone' in the country's economy, Dr Salehuddin said the new system would bring benefits for all stakeholders, including taxpayers, tax practitioners, and revenue collectors by reducing paperwork, saving time, and minimizing harassment.
Highlighting the usual tendency to rely on foreign consultants and software, he said that hiring expertise from outside needs spending additional money unnecessarily where hidden interests are also often involved.
"This initiative (making this software by the NBR officials) proves that we're capable of building efficient systems by ourselves," he said.
The Finance Adviser also urged the tax professionals to deliver services promptly and honestly, rather than delaying cases and forcing clients into repeated visits.
"If you provide services efficiently, people will not hesitate to pay your fees. But, if you keep them waiting or push them towards under-the-table solutions, it undermines the trust in the entire system," he said.
Dr Salehuddin underscored that good services in the revenue sector is crucial for improving compliance and thus enhancing government's revenues. He added that the success of TRMS depends on sincere efforts and goodwill from all parties.
"Whichever government comes next, it will take time to understand new systems. But, if we can show results now, people will see the light of change in Bangladesh," he said.
The Finance Adviser also thanked the team members who worked hard to develop the TRMS, saying that it is a step towards reducing dependency on foreign solutions and ensuring better taxpayer services in the country.
National Board of Revenue (NBR) Chairman Md Abdur Rahman Khan who presided over the programme said that the TRMS programme would mark as a major shift in Bangladesh's tax return filing as the system has been developed entirely by local talents.
"It's truly a proud day for us because this system is homegrown. Our own IT team, who studied in public universities here, built it successfully. They proved that if graduates from our universities can work at Google or Amazon abroad, they can also develop such solutions for Bangladesh."
He highlighted that the system would benefit both the taxpayers and tax practitioners by ensuring speed, accuracy, and digital record-keeping.
"Tax practitioners will now have their own database of clients' returns, which can be archived, viewed, and printed anytime. This will eliminate the hassles of losing physical files," he said.
The NBR chief acknowledged that filing returns is often complex and requires professional support, but stressed that TRMS would reduce dependency on manual processes.
He also assured that technical issues would be addressed promptly as the system was designed in-house.
Rahman noted that TRMS is integrated with several national databases, including NID and telecom servers, and despite interdependence-related challenges, the system is expected to improve with user feedback and training.
The revenue board chairman also announced that making online return submission mandatory this year would help NBR introduce automated, risk-based audit selection.
"This will end discrimination where some taxpayers face audits repeatedly while others never do. Next year, we plan to bring corporate tax online and even launch a mobile app for filing both corporate and income tax returns," he added.
The NBR chief further explained that NBR is working to connect commercial banks with the TRMS to enable auto-fill of financial information in tax returns. "Our officers will not access transaction details. The goal is to reduce mistakes and prevent tax evasion," he clarified.
Seeking cooperation from tax practitioners and taxpayers, the NBR chairman said the new system would ultimately allow professionals to focus more on tax planning rather than spending time on procedural work.
Key features of TRMS include: Digital registration of all authorized representatives in accordance with the Income Tax Act; Authorization of representatives by the taxpayers through the online system; Storage of all returns filed by each representative separately in the TRMS system; Ensuring transparency in the process of e-return filing by representatives on behalf of taxpayers; A user-friendly and simple interface for both taxpayers and representatives.
