It is also investigating to know why most of the top businessmen of Dhaka are not on the list of top taxpayers.

The NBR so far has collected Tk 14,542 crore, or 41 percent of its tax-collection target, Tk 35,652 crore, for FY2005-06. However, the board is satisfied with the half-yearly collection and believes an intense drive against tax evaders will help it realise the target in full in the remaining months.

"Tax collection usually remains slow in the first part of the year and picks up speed during the second part. We believe if we seek tax from people on the basis of information about their lifestyle, we can achieve our target," NBR Chairman Khairuzzaman Chowdhury told The Daily Star.

The Eid-ul-Azha drew the attention of NBR because a good number of people bought sacrificial animals priced at over Tk 1 lakh each. There were reports that one person alone bought 125 cattle and many people bought more than 20 for the Eid.

NBR officials said they now want to investigate whether the taxes these people pay match such lavish spending.

The NBR has already collected the names of the leaseholders of Eid cattle markets in Dhaka and Chittagong to collect information from them about the buyers of expensive animals.

The information will be compared with their tax files. The NBR will also check whether the leaseholders have paid due taxes for their income from the cattle markets.

The board is also reviewing its latest list of the top 56 taxpayers, which includes individuals, and private and public companies. Surprisingly, this list does not contain a large number of top businessmen and business houses.

Only four leading businessmen of Dhaka are on the list as top individual taxpayers, with the rest coming from outside the capital. The topmost individual taxpayer, who paid Tk 1.03 crore, is a businessman of Chittagong.

Standard Chartered Bank, a foreign bank, has topped the list of taxpaying private companies, paying Tk 97 crore. Islami Bank Ltd has become the number one taxpayer among the public limited companies, depositing Tk 45 crore.

These top 56 taxpayers will receive VIP treatment from the government.

An NBR source noted, "We must find out why a good number of renowned businessmen of Dhaka is not on this list. We will conduct a special investigation."

"We will also continue monitoring our 56 VIP taxpayers to encourage them and ensure future honesty of the top taxpayers," he added.

The NBR is also setting up a special cell to audit selected tax cases by reviewing VAT and income tax records. It is going to recruit a chartered accountant as its adviser for the audit cell, which will work directly under the NBR chairman.

"This audit cell and the central intelligence cell (CIC) will work in a coordinated way to check tax evasion and increase direct tax collection," noted a NBR high official.

The CIC launched last year has already helped the NBR improve the tax collection scenario. The cell monitored 100 physicians and found inconsistencies between their actual income and that declared in their tax files. This strict monitoring forced 86 of the 100 physicians to revise their tax files this year.

"For instance, a doctor who previously showed his income at Tk 3 lakh a year later revised it to Tk 38 lakh," the official added.

SIX-MONTH TAX COLLECTION
In July to December, the NBR tax collection marked a 14 percent growth from that of the first half of FY05, which also had achieved a 9.39 percent growth from the corresponding period of FY04.

In July-December, the NBR collected Tk 7,227 crore at import level, registering a 9.4 percent growth. At local level, the collection grew by 19 percent with the amount reaching Tk 4,774 crore. Income tax collection also grew by 19 percent, with the NBR collecting Tk 2,416 crore.

The NBR issued 17 lakh tax identification numbers (TINs), of which only 5 lakh TIN holders pay tax.