Tax academy for int’l-standard training facility

The BCS Tax Academy has proposed setting up an international standard training academy.

The proposed academy will feature all types of advanced and modern academic and administrative training facilities along with infrastructure like a multipurpose building, dormitory, playing ground and gymnasium for the tax trainees.

The proposal was sent to the Planning Commission and its Project Evaluation Committee discussed the proposal on August 21 where representatives from all the concerned entities came up with their opinion on the necessity of the proposed training facility.

The project cost is estimated at around Tk 191.52 crore and the entire amount will come from the government exchequer. The project is expected to be completed by December 2023.

BCS Tax Academy Director General MM Fazlul Haque Arif in the PEC meeting said, “The tax administration is yet to have any training academy of its own till today while there is a severe need for adequate skilled and trained officials for collecting revenue at the actual target level,” read a copy of the meeting’s minutes obtained by The Business Post.

He told the meeting that strengthening the tax administration would increase the collection of direct tax (income tax) as it is essential for the country with minimising indirect taxes like VAT and customs duty.

He said that the academy now runs the training operation for the tax officials in a rented house. Despite the scarcity of the training facility, the academy conducted training of 1,371 officials in 2018, 1, 331 in 2019, 1,639 in 2020, 1,133 in 2021 and 543 officials in 2022.

He added, “At present, 8,932 officials including Class I to Class IV employees are working for the tax administration. In addition to the present workforce, recruitment of more than 25,052 staff members awaits approval.”

“Still, the country’s ratio of Tax and GDP is significantly lower considering the regional and global context.”

However, the PEC in the meeting questioned some proposed expenditures and the necessity of setting up a separate secondary school on the academic campus.

The representative from the Finance Division called for reviewing the expenditure to reduce costs rationally.

The committee questioned the proposed expenses of over Tk 30 lakh as the project honorarium, Tk 30 lakh for advertisement, Tk 5 lakh for travel cost, Tk 15 lakh for the facilitation cost, Tk 20 lakh for other fancy goods, Tk 3 lakh for postal cost, Tk 2 lakh for telephone and cell phone, Tk 3 lakh for computer accessories, and Tk 5 lakh for five computers.