Doulot Akter Mala

The government is studying feasibility of engaging money changers for collection of travel tax from the airlines operators as realisation of such levy has been facing target shortfall since fiscal 2008-09.

Last year, travel tax collection dropped by 30 per cent compared to that of the previous fiscal. The National Board of Revenue (NBR) received Tk 4.13 billion in travel tax last year against Tk 4.43 billion in 2007-08.

"Airlines collect the travel tax from air passengers while issuing tickets for depositing in the national exchequer, but during the last few months the revenue board has found the airlines operators are reluctant to deposit the collected tax," said a senior tax official.

Finance department in a letter to the NBR has requested to examine the option of allowing money changers to sell travel tax coupon.

"The NBR could study the measure whether it will be logical or not to handover the responsibility of collecting revenue to the money changer companies," the letter said.

The tax official said: "The government should handover the responsibility to the banks rather than giving it to money changers."

Collection of travel tax can be regularised if the existing banks issue a coupon and collect travel tax from airlines, he said.

He, however, said all the landports have been depositing travel tax properly.

"It is surprising that some of the airlines have spent the entire amount of travel tax on payment of their employees' remuneration," he said.

The government is exploring an alternative way to collect the taxes as the NBR has found the airlines operators are not regularly depositing the travel tax depriving the national exchequer of revenue, he said.

In the first quarter of the current fiscal, the growth of collection of travel tax fell by 20.87 per cent compared with its target.

The NBR has collected Tk 960 million as travel tax against its target of Tk 1.17 billion in the first quarter (July-September) of the current fiscal.