The National Board of Revenue (NBR) has rolled out wide-ranging structural, legal and technology-driven reforms to modernise Bangladesh’s revenue administration, but officials and economists say outcomes remain below expectations due to operational bottlenecks, capacity constraints and slow progress in customs and trade facilitation.
Despite visible gains in digitalisation and legal reforms, weaknesses in implementation, tariff rationalisation and customs modernisation continue to limit impact, with private think tank Policy Research Institute chairman Zaidi Sattar warning that Bangladesh risks losing competitiveness unless key gaps are addressed within the next three to five years.
Commerce Secretary Mahbubur Rahman said the European Union has raised a list of concerns, around 15 of which relate directly to tax administration practices, focusing largely on operational issues rather than shortcomings in laws.
Under the interim government, the NBR has pursued reforms spanning infrastructure, legal frameworks and digital systems to improve taxpayer services and governance.
With World Bank financing, an international tender has been issued to construct a technologically advanced Customs House and Customs Academy in Chattogram, while contractors have been appointed for a government-funded tax building in the port city, with construction set to begin shortly. The Khulna Tax Building has been completed and is scheduled for inauguration on January 29, 2026.
As part of a long-term roadmap, the NBR has adopted a 10-year Medium and Long Term Revenue Strategy to raise the revenue-to-GDP ratio and strengthen institutional capacity, alongside the World Bank-supported Strengthening Domestic Revenue Mobilization Project involving nearly Tk1,000 crore to digitise operations.
To curb reliance on tax exemptions, the Tax Expenditure Policy and Management Framework has been gazetted, while amendments to the Income Tax Act 2023, Customs Act 2023 and the VAT and Supplementary Duty Act 2012 removed the NBR’s authority to grant exemptions without parliamentary approval.
The authoritative English texts of major tax laws and rules have also been published to reduce ambiguity and strengthen investor confidence.
Digital tax payments have expanded through the A-Challan system, integrated with ASYCUDA World and iBAS++, allowing online payments from bank accounts or mobile financial services without additional charges.
In VAT administration, online registration, e-filing, e-payment, e-refund, smart invoices and risk-based audits have strengthened compliance, while a December 2025 drive brought 131,000 new entities into the VAT net, raising total registrations to 775,000.
Income tax reforms made online return filing mandatory for most taxpayers, resulting in more than 3.4 million e-returns submitted so far this fiscal year, including filings by more than 5,000 expatriate Bangladeshis.
In customs, the rollout of the Bangladesh Single Window, new licensing regulations, bonded warehouse automation and faster auctions of long-staying containers have eased port congestion and improved transparency.
Officials say the reforms have laid a foundation for stronger revenue mobilisation and governance but acknowledge that structural constraints and execution gaps continue to weigh on results.
