THE INCOME TAX ORDINANCE, 1984. ( PART 13 )

CHAPTER XX

PROTECTION OF INFORMATION

  1. Statements, returns, etc. to be confidential.- (1) Save as provided in this section, all particulars or information contained in the following shall be confidential and shall not be disclosed, namely:-
  • any statement made, return furnished or accounts or documents produced under the provisions of this Ordinance;
  • any evidence given, or affidavit or deposition made, in the course of any proceedings under this Ordinance other than proceedings under Chapter XXI ;
  • any record of any assessment proceedings or any proceeding relating to the recovery of demand under this Ordinance.
  • Notwithstanding anything contained in the Evidence Act, 1872 (I of 1872) or any other law for the time being in force, no Court or other authority shall, save as provided in this Ordinance, be competent to require any public servant to produce before it any return, accounts or documents contained in, or forming a part of, the records relating to any proceeding under this Ordinance or to give evidence before it in respect thereof.
  • The prohibition under sub-section (1) shall not apply to the disclosure of-
  • any particulars, or in respect of any statement, return, accounts, documents, evidence, affidavit or deposition required for the purposes of prosecution of an offence under this Ordinance, the Penal Code (XLV of 1860), or the Foreign Exchange Regulation Act, 1947 (VII of 1947);
  • any particulars or information which is necessary for the purposes of this Ordinance to any person acting in the execution of this Ordinance, or of any particulars to any person being an expert whose services have been placed at the disposal of the Government by any international organisation of which Bangladesh is a member;
  • any particulars or information which is occasioned by the lawful employment under this Ordinance of any process for the service of any notice or the recovery of any demand;
  • any particulars of the amount due from an assessee under this Ordinance by the Board or any officer authorised by it, or by the Commissioner, to any department of the Government, local authority, bank, corporation or other organization for the purpose of the recovery of any demand;
  • any particulars to a Civil Court in any suit which relates to any matter arising out of any proceeding under this Ordinance and to which Government is a party;
  • any particulars to the Comptroller and Auditor-General of Bangladesh for the purpose of enabling him to discharge his functions under the Constitution;
  • any particulars to any officer appointed by the Comptroller and Auditor- General of Bangladesh or the Board for the purpose of auditing tax receipts or refunds;
  • any particulars relevant to any inquiry into the conduct of any official of the income tax department to any person appointed to hold such inquiry or to a Public Service Commission established under the Constitution when exercising its functions in relation to any matter arising out of any such inquiry;
  • any particulars relevant to any inquiry into a charge of misconduct in connection with income tax proceedings against a lawyer, a chartered accountant or a cost and management accountant to any authority empowered to take disciplinary action against such lawyer, chartered accountant or cost and management accountant;
  • any particulars by a public servant where the disclosure is occasioned by the lawful exercise by him of the powers under the Stamp Act, 1899 (II of 1899), to impound an insufficiently stamped document;
  • any facts to an authorised officer of the Government of any country outside Bangladesh with which the Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh has entered into an agreement for the avoidance of double taxation and the prevention of fiscal evasion where such disclosure is required under the terms of the agreement;
  • any such facts to any officer to the Government as may be necessary for the purpose of enabling the Government to levy or realise any tax imposed by it;

‘[(m) any such facts to any authority exercising power under the Excise and Salt Act, 1944 (I of 1944), the Gift-tax Act, 1963 (XIV of 1963), btbKi ABb, 199o (199o mbi 22 bs ABb), the Wealth-tax Act, 1963 (XV of 1963), the Customs Act, 1969 (IV of 1969), the Sales tax Ordinance, 1982, (XVIII of 1982) or gj mstbtRb Ki ABb, 1991 (1991 mbi 22 bs ABb) as may be necessary for the purpose of enabling it duly to exercise such powers;]

(n)  so much of any such particulars, to the appropriate authority as may be necessary to establish whether a person has or has not been assessed to income tax in any particular year or years, where, under the provisions of any law for the time being in force, such fact is required to be established;

(o)  any such particulars to the Bangladesh Bank as are required by that Bank to enable it to discharge its functions under the foreign exchange control laws or to compile financial statistics of international investments and balance of payments;

(p)  any such information as may be required by any officer or department of the Government for the purpose of investigation into the conduct and affairs of a public servant;

(q)  any such particulars as may be required by any order made under section 19(2) of the Foreign Exchange Regulation Act, 1947 (VII of 1947) [1] [2][; or

(r)    a list of highest tax-payers in accordance with rules made in this behalf ][3][;

(s)   the particulars of any assessee mentioned in the certificate issued under section 184B to any person or authority mentioned in sub­section (1) of section 184A for the purpose of verifying the authenticity of the twelve-digit Taxpayer’s Identification Number (TIN).]

  1. T. Manual, Part-1 [Sec. 163
  • Nothing in this section shall apply to the production by a public servant before a Court of any document, declaration or affidavit filed, or the record of any statement or deposition made in a proceeding under section 90 or 111, or to the giving of evidence by a public servant in respect thereof.
  • Any person to whom any information is communicated under this section, and any person or employee under his control, shall in respect of that information, be subject to the same rights, privileges, obligations and liabilities as if he were a public servant and all the provisions of this Ordinance shall, so far as may be, apply accordingly.
  • This section shall not be construed as prohibiting the voluntary disclosure of any particulars referred to in sub-section (1) by the person by whom the statement was made, return furnished, accounts or documents produced, evidence given or affidavit or deposition made, as the case may be.

CHAPTER XXI

OFFENCES AND PROSECUTION

  1. Punishment for non-compliance of certain obligations.- A person is guilty of an offence punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to one year, or with fine, or with both, if he, without reasonable cause,-
  • fails to deduct 1 [or collect] and pay any tax as required under the provisions of Chapter VII except advance payment of tax or fails to deduct and pay tax as required under section 143(2);
  • fails to produce, or cause to be produced, on or before the date mentioned in any notice under Chapter VIII, or under section 83, such accounts, documents or statements as are referred to in such notice;
  • fails to furnish, in due time, the return of income which he is required to furnish under section 75, or by notice given under section 77 or 93;

2[(cc) refuses to furnish such information as may be necessary under section 113;]

  • refuses to permit inspection or to allow copies to be taken in accordance with the provisions of section 114;
  • fails to afford necessary facilities or to furnish the required information to an income tax authority exercising powers under section 115; 3[***]

4 [(ee) fails to comply with the requirement under sub-section (1) of section 116;

(eee) fails to comply with the order made under sub-section (1) of section 116A; or]

  • refuses to permit or in any manner obstructs the exercise of powers under section 117 by an income tax authority.

Ins. by F.A 1989

Ins. by F.A. 2011

Omitted “or” by F.A. 2013

Ins. new clauses (ee) and (eee) by F.A. 2013

  1. Punishment for false statement in ^verification, etc.].-

A person is guilty of an offence punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to three years, [4] [5][but shall not be less than three months,] or with fine, or with both, if he-

  • makes a statement in any verification, etc. in any return or any other document furnished under any provisions of this Ordinance which is false [6][***];
  • knowingly and willfully aids, abets, assists, incites or induces another person to make or deliver a false return, account, statement, certificate or declaration under this Ordinance, or himself knowingly and willfully makes or delivers such false return, account, statement, certificate or declaration on behalf of another person [7][;
  • signs and issues any certificate mentioned in the first or second proviso to section 82 which he either knows or believes to be false or does not believe to be true] [8] [9] [10][;
  • refuses to furnish such information as may be necessary for the purpose of survey under section 115.]

6[165A. Punishment for improper use of Tax-payer’s Identification Number.-

A person is guilty of an offence punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to three years or with fine up to taka fifty thousand or both, if he deliberately uses or used a fake Tax-payer’s Identification Number (TIN) or a Tax-payer’s Identification Number (TIN) of another person.]

7[165AA. Punishment for furnishing fake audit report.- A person is guilty of an offence punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to three years, but shall not be less than three months, or with fine upto taka one lakh, or both, if he furnishes along with the return of income or thereafter any audited statement of accounts which is false or does not conform with signature of a chartered accountant purported to be signatory to such statement.]

1[165B. Punishment for obstructing an income tax authority.- A person who obstructs an income tax authority in discharge of functions under this Ordinance shall commit an offence punishable with imprisonment for a term not exceeding one year, or with a fine, or with both.]

2 [165C. Punishment for unauthorised employment.- A person is guilty of an offence punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to three years, but shall not be less than three months, or with fine up to taka five lakh, or both, if he employs or allows to work any individual not being a Bangladeshi citizen without prior approval from Board of Investment or any competent authority of the government as the case may be.] [11] [12]

  1. Punishment for concealment of income, etc.- A person is guilty of an offence punishable with imprisonment which may extend to five years 1 [but shall not be less than three months], or with fine, or with both, if he conceals the particulars, or deliberately furnishes inaccurate particulars, of his income.
  2. Punishment for disposal of property to prevent attachment.- The owner of any property, or a person acting on his behalf or claiming under him, is guilty of an offence punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to five years, or with fine, or with both, if he sells, mortgages, charges, leases or otherwise so deals with the property after the receipt of a notice from the Tax Recovery Officer as to prevent its attachment by that Officer.
  3. Punishment for disclosure of protected information.- A public servant, or any person assisting, or engaged, by any person acting in the execution of this Ordinance, is guilty of an offence punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to six months, or with fine, if he discloses any particulars or information in contravention of the provisions of section 163.
  4. Sanction for prosecution.- (1) No prosecution for an offence punishable under any provisions of this Chapter shall be instituted except with the previous sanction of the Board.

2[(2)***]

  1. Power to compound offences.- 3[The Board may], either before or after the institution of any proceedings or prosecution for an offence punishable under this Chapter, compound such offence.
  2. T. Manual, Part-1 [Sec. 171
  3. Trial by Special Judge.- (1) Notwithstanding anything contained in the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898 (Act V of 1898), or in any other law for the time being in force, an offence punishable under this Chapter, other than an offence under section 168, shall be tried by a Special Judge appointed under the Criminal Law Amendment Act, 1958 (XL of 1958), as if such offence were an offence specified in the Schedule to that Act.
  • A Special Judge shall take cognizance of, and have jurisdiction to try, an offence triable by him under sub-section (1) only upon a complaint in writing made, after obtaining the sanction under 169, by the Deputy Commissioner of Taxes-
  • who is competent to make assessment under this Ordinance in the case to which the offence alleged to have been committed relates, and
  • whose office is situated within the territorial limits of the jurisdiction of the Special Judge.

[1] Subs. by F.A. 1999

[2] Ins. by F.A. 1994

[3] Ins. by F.A. 2014

[4] Subs. for “•verification ” by F.A. 1993

[5] Ins. by F.A. 1999

[6]  Omitted by F.A. 1999

[7] Ins. by F.A 1993

[8] Ins. by F.A. 1999

[9] Ins. new section 165A by F.A. 2010

[10] Ins. new section 165AA by F.A. 2015

[11] Ins. new section 165B by F.A. 2011

1 Ins. by F.A. 1999 Omitted by F.A. 1999

Subs. for “the Commissioner may” by F.O. 2008

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