1. Conditions of approval.—

(1) Subject to the fulfillment of the following conditions and such other conditions as may be prescribed by the Board, the Provident Fund shall receive approval and such approval shall remain in force-

(a) in respect of any business or industrial establishment carried Bangladesh, the relevant fund shall be a fund established under an irrevocable trust and at least 90% (ninety percent) of the employees of the said business or industrial establishment shall be employed in Bangladesh;

(b) for the welfare of any of the employees engaged in the business or industrial establishment on or after retirement at the prescribed age or before such retirement being unable to work, for the benefit of such employee or, after the death of such employee, his widow, children or defendants, the provision shall be for the sole purpose of the said fund; 

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

(d) All benefits granted from the Fund shall be payable in Bangladesh only.

(2) The order shall take effect from the date on which the Board communicates in writing to the Trustee of the Fund an order granting or withdrawing the same.

2. Procedure for approval.—

(1) For the purpose of approval of fund, an application shall be made to the commissioner under whom the taxpayer’s tax is determined in the manner prescribed by one 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 change.

(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.

(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, give his decision on the application and failing which, such fund shall be deemed to have been approved;

(6) If approved, the order shall include the following:

(a) Terms and conditions of approval;

(b) The effective date of the approval;

(c) Duration of Grant of Approval.

(7) In cases where the date of approval is not specified, it shall be effective from the date on which the approval order is issued.

(8) 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 trust 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 same in writing to any Trustee of the Fund specifying the following matters-

(a) the reason for such withdrawal; and

(b) Effective date of withdrawal.

(5) Where approval is granted for a fixed period, it shall automatically terminate on the expiry of the said period, and if re-approval is sought, a fresh application shall be made by the trustee under clause.

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

Contributions made by an employer to any approved provident fund shall, subject to the limits prescribed in this Act, be deducted from the income, profits and gains computed by the assessee of his tax.

5. Management of Refunded Contributions.-

Where the contributions paid by an employer (including interest on contributions, if any) are refunded to the employer, in the tax year in which such refund is received by the employer, such refund shall be treated as income in his tax assessment. will be

6. Particulars to be filed for provident fund —

Where the Deputy Commissioner of Taxes directs by notice the trustee of an approved provident fund and any employer who has paid contributions to an approved provident fund to file any return, statement, declaration or information by notice, the said trustee or employer shall submitted to the Deputy Commissioner of Taxes within the period specified in the notice.

7. The provisions of this Part shall prevail over the regulations of the Provident Fund.-

In the event of any inconsistency with any provision of the Provident Fund Regulations and any provision of this Part, the inconsistent part of the Provident Fund Regulations shall be deemed to be invalid and the Board may at any time direct the abolition of the inconsistent part of the Provident Fund Regulations. Explanation- For the purposes of this section, the expressions ”subscription”, ”employee”, ”employer”, ”fund regulation” and ”salary” shall have the same meanings as used in relation to Provident Fund;