The government has issued a gazette notification on the new pay scale and allowances for government officials and employees.
The Ministry of Finance issued the circular on 17 September, which has been titled the Service (Salary and Allowances) Order, 2026.
Under the notification, officials in grade 9 and above will receive 40 per cent of the increase in basic pay from 1 July to 31 December, while officials and employees in grades 10 to 20 will receive 50 per cent. The additional amount will be added to the salary drawn or payable as of 30 June.
From 1 January to 30 June 2027, officials in grade 9 and above will receive 70 per cent of the increase in basic pay under the new structure, while officials and employees in grades 10 to 20 will receive 75 per cent.
The full increase in basic pay will take effect from 1 July 2027. As the new pay structure has been made effective from 1 July 2026, officials and employees will also receive arrears.
The notification said government officials and employees will begin receiving all other allowances under the new structure from 1 January 2028. Pensioners will also receive all benefits under the revised structure.
The existing 20-grade system has been retained, with basic pay rising by between 100 per cent and a maximum of 142 per cent depending on grade.
The basic salary for Grade 20 has been raised by 142 per cent to Tk20,000 from Tk8,250, while the Grade 1 basic salary has been doubled to Tk156,000 from Tk78,000.
Implementing the new pay structure for around 24 lakh government officials and employees will cost the government an estimated additional Tk1,05,580 crore a year.
Around 9.15 lakh pensioners will also receive benefits under the new structure.
Alongside the main gazette, separate statutory regulatory orders, or SROs, will be issued for civilian officials and employees, police, Border Guard Bangladesh, the armed forces, autonomous and state-owned institutions and the judicial service.
From commission to cabinet
The move comes nearly 12 years after the Eighth Pay Commission. The interim government formed the 23-member Ninth National Pay Commission on 27 July last year. The commission submitted its report to then chief adviser Muhammad Yunus on 21 January this year.
Former finance secretary Zakir Ahmed Khan headed the commission, which recommended increasing the pay and allowances of government employees by between 100 per cent and 140 per cent.
The government later formed a 10-member committee on 21 April, headed by Cabinet Secretary Nasimul Ghani, to recommend how the new pay structure should be implemented. The committee subsequently finalised its recommendations. The Cabinet Division identifies Nasimul Ghani as Cabinet Secretary.
Taking the committee’s recommendations into account, the Cabinet approved the new pay structure on 31 August at a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Tarique Rahman.
