1. Conditions for sanction of superannuation or Pension Fund.-

On fulfillment of the following conditions, Sanction of superannuation or Pension Fund shall get approval and such approval shall remain in force, namely:-

(a) by virtue of any business or industrial establishment carried on in Bangladesh, the fund concerned shall be a fund established under an irrevocable trust;

(b) Objects of the stated fund shall be for employees engaged in the business or industrial establishment retires at or after the prescribed age or becomes unable to work before such retirement, to such employee or, after the death of such employee, to his widow, children or pets, for their welfare, annual financial assistance;

(c) the employer of the business or industrial establishment shall be a contributor to the fund;

(d) all annual grants, pensions and other benefits granted out of the Fund shall be payable only in Bangladesh;

(e) The fund shall fulfill such other conditions as may be prescribed by the Board:

Provided that the Commissioner of Taxation, hereinafter referred to as the Commissioner in this section, may, subject to the fulfillment of such condition, grant approval in respect of the following from such fund or part thereof, if he considers it fit to impose any other condition for the purpose of approval, namely:-

(i) notwithstanding the provisions of the Fund, in the case of refund of contributions paid to the Fund for meeting certain incidental expenses;

(ii) notwithstanding the provision that the aforesaid lump sum Shall be the principal purpose of the Fund, if in such case it is not the sole purpose; or

(iii) the business or industrial establishment to which the said fund relates notwithstanding that such business or industrial establishment is only partially carried on in Bangladesh.

2. Method of approval.-

(1) For the purpose of approval of superannuation or pension fund, an application shall be made to the Commissioner under whom the tax is determined as a taxpayer in the prescribed manner by any of the trustees of the concerned fund.

(2) If any change is made in the rules, constitution, purposes or conditions of the fund after the date of application for approval, the applicant shall forthwith notify the Commissioner of such amendment.

(3) The Commissioner shall consider the application, the relevant records and the documents in his possession and he may require other documents from the Trustee in writing for consideration.

(4) While considering the application, the Commissioner may, if necessary, direct the applicant to appear before him.

(5) The Commissioner shall, within 180 (one hundred and eighty) days from the date of receipt of the application, by order in writing, pass his decision on the application and failing that, such fund shall be deemed to have been sanctioned.

(6) If approval is granted, the order shall include the following matters, namely:-

(a) terms and conditions of approval;

(b) the effective date of the approval; and

(c) Duration of sanction of approval;

(7) If approval is granted for a specific period, before the expiration of the said period, the trustee shall apply for extension of the said period.

3. Withdrawal of approval.

(1) If the commissioner considers that the conditions mentioned in paragraphs 2 and 3 have been violated or not fulfilled by the concerned superannuation or pension fund, the commissioner may withdraw the said approval at any time.

(2) In cases where the date on which the withdrawal is to take effect is not specified, it shall take effect from the date on which the order of withdrawal of approval is passed.

(3) The Commissioner shall not withdraw the approval without giving the applicant a reasonable opportunity of being heard.

(4) Where the approval under sub-section (1) is withdrawn, the Commissioner shall notify the Trustee of the Fund in writing stating the following matters-

(a) the reason for such withdrawal; and

(b) Effective date of withdrawal.

(5) Where an approval is granted for a specified period, it shall automatically terminate on the expiry of that period, and fresh application shall be made by the trustee under sub-section (2) if re-approval is sought.

4. Provisions relating to income and contributions to fund.—

(1) Subject to other provisions of this Act, income earned from investments or deposits of approved superannuation funds or pension funds and capital gains arising from transfer of capital property of such funds shall be exempted from income tax.

(2) Contributions made by an employer to any approved superannuation fund or pension fund shall, subject to the limits specified in this Act, be deducted from the income, profits and gains computed for the purpose of assessment of his tax.

5. Liability of trustee on cancelation of approval of fund.-

If for any reason the approval of an approved superannuation or pension fund is wholly or partially withdrawn, the trustee of the fund shall be liable to tax for the following payments-

(a) refund of subscription (including interest on subscription, if any);

(b) money paid in lieu of or in lieu of annual lump sum; and

(c) sums paid in respect of the fund or part of the fund before the withdrawal up of the fund.

6. Particulars to be furnished in relation to superannuation or pension fund.-

The Deputy Commissioner of Taxes may, by notice, direct the trustee of any approved superannuation or Pension Fund or the employer contributing to the superannuation or Pension Fund to furnish the following particulars, namely: –

(a) A return containing the following particulars-

(i) the name and residential address of each person who received an annual grant from the Fund;

(ii) the amount of annual grant payable to each recipient;

(iii) particulars of contributions (contributions with interest, if any) refunded to the employer or the employee; and

(iv) particulars of sums paid in lieu of or in lieu of annual grants; and

(b) the accounts prepared for the Fund and such other information and particulars thereon as the Board may consider necessary up to the last day preceding the delivery of the notice of transmission of the accounts of the Fund.

7. Explanation.-

For the purposes of this section-

(a) the expressions “employer”, “employee”, “contribution” and “salary” shall have the same meaning as in relation to Provident Fund, in relation to superannuation or Pension Fund; and

(b) “Annual General Contribution” means the contribution of the prescribed amount or subscription fund of the members of the fund fixed annual contribution on certain basis such as income, contribution amount or number of members.