NBR, ICAB to launch ‘Document Verification System’ to prevent financial irregularities

The National Board of Revenue (NBR) and Institute of Chartered Accountants of Bangladesh (ICAB) have been developing a "Document Verification System" to prevent some companies' malpractice of evading taxes by preparing more than one financial report.

The document verification system based on a central database will keep audit reports of all the companies registered with the Registrar of Joint Stock Companies and Firms (RJSC).

Income tax officials will match the audit reports with the income tax returns of those companies.

The announcement about the document verification system was made at a conference of the members of the ICAB on Thursday.

NBR Chairman Abu Hena Md Rahmatul Muneem attended the programme as the chief guest.

He said this system will significantly reduce the degree of financial corruption in society.

The NBR chairman further said many companies knowingly submit fake audit reports to the government to evade taxes, which is one of the key obstacles to tax collections at the desired level.

"Some companies prepare two financial statements. One is genuine while the

other is prepared with a view to dodging taxes," he added.

ICAB President Muhammad Farooq FCA said, "All the firms registered with the Register of Joint Stock Companies have to audit their reports by CA (chartered accountant) firms."

ICAB Vice President Mohammed Forkan Uddin, who presented the keynote paper at the event, said, "This document verification system will stop the practice of preparing more than one financial report and tempered reports."