Staff Correspondent:
The collected revenues are not being deposited at the state coffer, triggering direct bank borrowing from Bangladesh Bank, finds Cash and Debt Management Committee (CDMC).
A five-member inter-ministerial committee headed by an additional secretary of the Ministry of Finance has been formed to look into the matter, official sources said.
The issue was discussed at a recent meeting of CDMC held at the finance ministry with Finance Secretary Fatima Yasmin in the chair.
The meeting was informed that during the July-October period of the current fiscal year, National Board of Revenue (NBR) collected Tk 909.18 billion as revenues, but only Tk 655.63 billion was deposited to the public exchequer in Bangladesh Bank.
The deposit shortfall of Tk 253.55 billion has exerted pressure on the government’s cash money, officials said.
The newly formed committee has representatives of the Internal Resource Division, Comptroller and Auditor General Office, Bangladesh Bank and NBR.
“Sometimes, dishonest officials show unpaid tax as paid tax in collusion with the taxpayers. As a result, these taxes are not deposited to the treasury,” explained former NBR chairman Mohammad Abdul Mazid.
“In a modern time of ICT, such a huge gap between collected and deposited money can’t be accepted at all. It is urgent to unearth the real picture. The gap can be Tk 10 billion or Tk 20 billion, but it can’t be Tk 250 billion,” he remarked.
Abu Hena Md. Rahmatul Muneem, NBR Chairman said, “The NBR revenues should directly be deposited to the Treasury because almost all types of NBR activities are online.”
The CDMC meeting was informed that the non-deposit coupled with low revenue earning has caused a negative trend in public spending.
The time-consuming bank borrowing due to high interest rates for Treasury bills and bonds and slowing saving certificate sale has put more pressure on cash money.The government borrows from both local and foreign sources. Local bank loans are taken through issuing bills and bonds. Moreover, loans are taken from the central bank as well as overdraft and as ways and means advances.
The government can take the highest Tk 120 billion from the central bank’s two sources. Initiative has been taken to raise it to Tk 160 billion and CDMC has taken a decision to place a summary before the finance minister in this regard.
The interest rate on T-bills and bonds has increased because of an unstable dollar market and high inflation.
The CDMC meeting was informed that the government’s interest payment surged by Tk 23.57 billion in FY 2021-22, while interest payment was Tk 50.57 billion higher in the first months of the current fiscal year compared to that of last fiscal.
NBR and Bangladesh Bank officials said usually collected VAT from different sources is deposited at the treasury within 15 days of collection. So, there might have been a data mismatch between revenue collection and treasury deposits.
In addition, sometimes larger statistics can be shown to achieve a monthly target, while iBAS++ software can create some complexity. However, in any of such cases, the gap could be at best Tk 40 to Tk 50 billion, they added.
Policy Research Institute (PRI) executive director said such a huge gap in revenues and deposits suggests that the information regarding revenues is not correct and irregularities are taking place in the process.

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