A senior tax official has been demoted by three pay grades after an official inquiry found clear evidence of manipulation of an income tax payer’s records, including alteration of returns, destruction of original documents and forged signatures.
The punishment was imposed on Bangladesh Civil Service (Tax) Academy Deputy Director Khandaker Md Hashanul Islam, after misconduct allegations brought against him were found to be fully substantiated, according to a gazette issued on Tuesday by the Internal Resources Division (IRD) of the Ministry of Finance.
The gazette said the action was taken under the Government Servants (Discipline and Appeal) Rules, 2018, following a departmental investigation into irregularities committed during his earlier posting as a deputy commissioner of taxes.
During his tenure at Circle-165 under Dhaka Tax Zone-8 between October 17, 2019 and March 28, 2021, Hashanul Islam was found to have been involved in serious misconduct related to the tax records of a taxpayer named Jasmin Pradhan.
Investigators found that income tax returns, assessment orders and multiple official registers were tampered with, where entries in different columns were altered through overwriting and original records were removed and replaced with modified documents kept in the taxpayer’s file.
A review of income tax returns, assessment orders, return registers, stock registers and monthly assessment registers for the tax years 2016–17 to 2019–20 showed that total declared income was newly inflated in every year.
The inquiry also found that new liabilities were shown for the tax years 2017–18 to 2019–20, while the taxpayer was granted initial capital facilities under section 82BB(11) by using the universal self-assessment system for the first time in the 2016–17 tax year.
Officials further noted that unreported assets were incorporated into tax returns by showing foreign remittance receipts across multiple tax years.
The gazette said income tax returns for the tax years 2016–17 to 2020–21 were accepted under the universal self-assessment system based on audit reports prepared by a private audit firm on September 15, 2020.
However, bank statements attached to those returns carried generation and printing dates from various days in 2020, rather than dates corresponding to the relevant tax years, raising serious questions about their authenticity.
The investigation also revealed extensive overwriting in return registers for the tax years 2016–17 to 2020–21 and major inconsistencies between declared income, total assets and net assets shown in the registers and those stated in the income tax return submitted under the normal system for the 2020–21 tax year.
Despite these discrepancies, a hearing on a substituted tax return was held on December 20, 2020, for the taxpayer’s nominated representative, Md Adnan.
Further irregularities emerged when income tax clearance certificates for the tax years 2016–17 to 2019–20 were issued on December 20, 2020, while the assessment orders recorded the issuance date as December 15, 2020.
Similarly, although the income tax case for the 2020–21 tax year was settled on December 24, 2020, the assessment order showed the disposal date as December 20, 2020.
Based on these findings, a departmental case was initiated against Hashanul Islam under Rule 3(b) of the Government Servants (Discipline and Appeal) Rules, 2018, and he was asked to submit a written explanation.
After he sought a personal hearing, which was held on February 17, 2025, the authorities decided the matter required further scrutiny to ensure fairness, given the possibility of a major penalty.
As part of the process, the Director General, current charge, of the Tax Inspection Directorate was appointed as the investigation officer.
After examining the explanation submitted by Hashanul Islam, the investigation report and all related records, the authorities concluded that the charge of misconduct had been proven beyond doubt.
Under Rule 4(2)(gha) of the same rules, the government decided to impose a minor penalty by reducing his basic salary from Tk45,330 to Tk39,150, effectively demoting him by three pay grades.
The order took effect immediately, the gazette said.
