Tk 149 crore tax collected from 3 pvt varsities in a day

NSU provides Tk 125 crores by breaking FDR

–NSU still has Tk 180cr tax due
-44 pvt varsities owe Tk 831cr

Special Correspondent: The tax department has collected approximately Tk 149 crore from three reputed private universities in a single day. Among them, North South University contributed Tk 125 crore by breaking its Fixed Deposit Receipt (FDR) with a branch of Mutual Trust Bank. This unprecedented action marks the first time such a large amount has been collected by breaking an FDR in the history of the National Board of Revenue (NBR).
In addition to North South University, a team from Tax Zone-11 recovered Tk 13 crore from Independent University and Tk 10 crore from Southeast University on Thursday.
Sources reveal that while North South University was willing to pay the tax, the bank initially hesitated due to the substantial amount involved. The situation escalated, prompting the tax authorities to caution the managing director and branch manager of the bank for not facilitating the tax payment. Eventually, the bank complied, breaking the FDR and paying Tk 125,694,270 in taxes. North South University still has tax arrears of around Tk 180 crore. To date, approximately Tk 170 crore has been collected from private universities.
Under the directive of the Commissioner of Tax Zone-11, Dhaka, a team was tasked with collecting income tax from three private universities: North South University, Independent University, and East West University. The team was led by Tax Zone-11 Commissioner Rakibul Hafeez, along with Circle-228 Commissioner Zahirul Islam, and tax inspectors Samiul Alam, Abdus Salam, and Barun Kumar Saha.
The team first visited the Bashundhara branch of Mutual Trust Bank, where North South University’s accounts are held. After breaking the FDR, a pay order of Tk 125,694,270 was collected as tax. Additionally, a pay order of Tk 87,816,066 was taken from the same branch for Independent University’s outstanding tax, while another Tk 43,249,555 was recovered from Dhaka Bank’s Baridhara branch. About Tk 10 crore was collected from East West University’s outstanding tax at Bank Asia’s MerulBadda branch.
An NBR income tax department official, speaking anonymously, stated that recent High Court decisions against private universities have removed legal obstacles, enabling the NBR to collect overdue taxes. The NBR Chairman directed the Commissioner of Tax Zone-11 to recover all outstanding taxes from private universities. Despite numerous letters and reminders, many universities were evading payment, leading to the freezing of bank accounts for over 28 private universities. Following this, 10 universities paid about Tk 33 crore, but others, including North South University, continued to default.
North South University alone owes around Tk 180.51 crore in income tax. Despite being notified, the university initially showed reluctance to pay. The tax department then instructed Mutual Trust Bank to release the outstanding tax from North South University’s account, which eventually led to the FDR being broken to settle the tax debt.
There are 52 private universities under Tax Zone-11, with 44 universities collectively owing approximately Tk 831 crore in unpaid taxes. So far, more than Tk 170 crore has been recovered. A letter from Tax Zone-11 on March 4 set a deadline for paying the outstanding income tax, leading to the freezing of accounts for 28 universities due to non-payment.
Among the universities with significant tax arrears are North South University (Tk 180.51 crore), Southeast University (Tk 45 crore), Asia Pacific University (Tk 28 crore), Daffodil University (Tk 23 crore), United International University (Tk 17 crore), and University of Liberal Arts Bangladesh (Tk 15 crore).
According to NBR sources, a 2007 and 2010 notification fixed the income tax rate for private universities, private medical colleges, private dental colleges, private engineering colleges, and private IT colleges at 15 percent. Following multiple writs by various private universities, the Appellate Division ruled on February 27 this year that all private universities must pay a 15 percent tax on their income.