In mid-October, Dhaka North City Corporation officials went to Rangs Waterfront in Gulshan-1 asking flat householders to submit paperwork for the re-examination of their keeping taxes.
All over this talk over with, Mehedi Hasan Risad, a earnings supervisor from the Corporation’s Zone-3 office, offered flat householders with a proposal: pay Tk2 lakh every, and in return, their assessed taxes would be vastly decreased.
Abdullah Al Mahmud owns one in every of the 62 residences within the constructing and became as soon as also offered the deal.
“I in actual fact were paying an annual keeping tax of Tk35,000 for years and originate no longer possess any objection paying more following re-examination,” he instructed The Industry Usual.
“On the opposite hand, the earnings supervisor threatened that if we did no longer pay the bribe, our tax can be increased three to four instances the most modern amount. He also intimidated flat householders with doable complications within the process,” he acknowledged.
TBS conducted a deeper investigation into Risad’s operations and uncovered that complaints in opposition to him lengthen properly beyond the residences of Rangs Waterfront.
Risad has reportedly issued keeping tax re-examination notices to spherical 2,000 holdings beneath his jurisdiction in Gulshan, anxious bribes ranging from Tk2 lakh to Tk10 lakh.
He orchestrates an enormous bribery operation, focusing on holdings in Gulshan, Baridhara, and Banani, aiming to rep on the least Tk40 crore thru threats counting excessive taxes. Both the bribe giver and receiver derive pleasure from these transactions, which is why such incidents time and again bolt unreported.
Investigations also published that Risad conducts these transactions and agreements openly from his office and meticulously recordsdata the particulars of bribes in a ledger.
A veteran chief earnings officer of Dhaka North, talking on the condition of anonymity, instructed TBS that a community internal the metropolis corporation is fascinated with such tax-linked activities.
He added that in Zone-3, there are eight earnings supervisors, many of whom use intermediaries – posing as both possibilities and even officials – to steer and even stress true taxpayers into paying bribes.
“I really tried to fight this community, nonetheless finally I became as soon as unsuccessful. A case became as soon as filed with the Anti-Corruption Rate in opposition to one legit, nonetheless I am blind to any updates on that matter,” the officer published.
Undercover at Risad’s office
On 6 November, this reporter visited the Zone-3 office, accompanied by a flat owner’s representative, and noticed the actions of Earnings Supervisor Mehedi Hasan Risad for three hours.
Upon entering the office, it became as soon as noticed that Risad became as soon as engaged in a discussion with a shopper referring to a keeping tax difficulty.
The shopper, a flat owner, became as soon as searching for to unravel his tax file nonetheless became as soon as easiest willing to pay Tk1.5 lakh, while Risad within the origin demanded Tk3 lakh.
After some negotiation, they settled on Tk2 lakh, with the customer agreeing to pay an advance of Tk30,000. On the opposite hand, Rishad insisted on Tk1 lakh upfront.
Following a brief conversation, Risad briefly took the customer out of his office.
When they returned, Risad opened a notebook the place he recorded the advance of Tk30,000 in cash beneath the customer’s title, instructing him to pay the comfort when the work became as soon as achieved.
Subsequent, it became as soon as our flip.
We instructed Risad that our flat became as soon as in Rangs Waterfront on Avenue 15 in Gulshan-1 and asked what we needed to originate to forestall our keeping tax from growing.
Risad responded that he would price the same rate as the totally different householders within the constructing.
“Accurate pay an advance of Tk1 lakh to originate up, and one other Tk1 lakh when the work is achieved. The process will take about two months, nonetheless you might likely likely no longer possess to talk over with the office all over that time; I will take care of the entire lot,” he acknowledged.
When we asked if the amount can be decreased, Risad answered, “If I lower it, there might perhaps perhaps no longer be one thing left for me. I in actual fact possess prices on my side, and I even possess to present one thing to the seniors, ?”
The assembly concluded with our dedication to return with the needed tax paperwork to provoke the process.
Risad denies the entire lot
On 10 November, Risad became as soon as contacted over the phone, with my identification accumulated undisclosed.
When puzzled about the bribery allegations from Rangs Waterfront flat householders, Risad denied them, calling them “fully fraudulent and baseless”.
On 13 November, I visited Mir Khairul Alam, chief govt officer of Dhaka North.
He assured that they’ll no longer ever tolerate such corruption and might perhaps perhaps accumulated investigate these allegations and take acceptable action in opposition to those accountable.
“If there is a community fascinated with such irregularities, we’re going to title and produce them to justice,” he added.
The talk over with alerted Risad, who had realized my identification and realised that I visited him per week earlier beneath the guise of a shopper.
He called straight away, suggesting there might perhaps perhaps need been a misunderstanding.
“I talk over with different structures to distribute notices and talk about tax matters with householders, nonetheless I by no formulation demanded a bribe,” he said.
Regarding the negotiation on 10 November, he defined, “The figures I offered weren’t money, nonetheless they were protection numbers.”
He also acknowledged, “There are some problems with a number of residences on Rangs Waterfront residences, and the householders came to me with those concerns. On the opposite hand, I did no longer receive any money from anyone. They offered money, nonetheless I did no longer take or quiz for it.”
Elevating the difficulty with Md Mizanur Rahman, tax officer for Zone-3, he instructed TBS, “It is moral that the annual tax evaluate letters are being despatched to the Gulshan space, nonetheless we possess no longer got any complaints about bribery.”
Rahman additional acknowledged he became as soon as recent on the office and but familiarised himself with the of us. “It ought to take a while for me to derive to know them.”
3 dimensional corruption
Touching on such contaminated practices at government locations of work, Iftekharuzzaman, govt director of Transparency International Bangladesh, acknowledged when such crimes occur in tax series, they constitute a 3-dimensional offence.
He defined, “The first crime is dispute corruption. The 2d is the abuse of energy, and the third is deception in opposition to the utter. By offering illegal advantages to lower taxes, they are depriving the utter of its rightful earnings. As a consequence, the utter suffers monetary shatter.”
He acknowledged such misconduct might perhaps perhaps accumulated no longer be tolerated within the country’s altering ambiance and entreated for quick action to title the perpetrators.
Adil Mohammed Khan, president of the Bangladesh Institute of Planners, instructed TBS that no matter the most modern shift in government, contaminated contributors from outdated regimes remain in positions.
“Such incidents are disheartening, as they’ll power metropolis dwellers to have interaction with contaminated networks barely than apply moral procedures, which finally damages urban administration,” he added.
Md Mohiuddin, deputy chief earnings officer at Dhaka North, acknowledged that there are problems within the earnings department in numerous areas, and complaints originate arise at times.
“Some measures possess already been taken, nonetheless we have not got any complaints referring to Risad. If such a complaint is filed, our crew will take acceptable action. It be also significant for possibilities to be responsive to the difficulty, as the metropolis corporation’s tax charges are published on-line,” he acknowledged.
