The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Bangladesh (ICAB) has welcomed the national budget for FY2026–27, calling it strategic, forward-looking and timely. At the same time, it flagged concerns over deficit financing, taxation measures and growing regulatory complexity.
ICAB President NKA Mobin FCA, in his remarks, congratulated the government led by Prime Minister Tarique Rahman. He also appreciated Finance Minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury MP for placing a Tk 9,38,000 crore budget, equivalent to 13.7 per cent of GDP.
He noted that despite global economic pressure, including geopolitical tensions, inflation and a slowdown in investment, the government’s decision to implement a development budget of Tk 3,16,075 crore was a positive signal. This includes Tk3,00,000 crore under the Annual Development Programme.
ICAB, however, expressed concern that Tk1,12,000 crore of development spending will be financed through bank borrowing. It warned that this may reduce credit flow to the private sector and slow investment growth.
The organisation also cautioned that new tax measures, including a 0.2 per cent levy on retail businesses and 0.5 per cent on agricultural products, could add to inflationary pressure.
At the same time, ICAB welcomed several proposed reforms in the Income Tax Act. These include fixing tax rates for five years, removing minimum tax provisions, expanding self-assessment systems, introducing start-up tax incentives, and making the Withholding Identification Number (WIN) mandatory for compliance improvement.
It also praised cooperation between the National Board of Revenue (NBR) and ICAB on the Document Verification System (DVS) and corporate tax return digitalisation. The institute said these steps would widen the tax base and improve revenue collection.
ICAB further welcomed VAT-related reforms, including exclusion of labour from input definition, VAT based on actual value addition for exempt goods, exemptions for content creators and freelancers, lower appeal deposit requirements and simplified dispute settlement mechanisms.
Under the Customs Act 2023, ICAB highlighted the “Importer on Record” framework, Free Trade Zones, operational flexibility and reduced appeal deposits as measures that could improve trade efficiency and ease business operations.
The institute, however, urged the government to reconsider several provisions. These include the requirement for a 30 per cent dividend distribution by listed companies, advance tax collection from retailers, higher minimum turnover tax and changes in VAT return structure. It also raised concern over mandatory BIN requirements for small businesses.
ICAB said the budget is broadly business-friendly and could support Bangladesh’s transition towards a developed economy. It added that several of its recommendations had been incorporated and could help improve revenue collection, employment and economic stability.
