Bangladesh's NBR to form task-forces to amend customs, IT, VAT laws

20 Aug '24

1 min read

Bangladesh's NBR to form task-forces to amend customs, IT, VAT laws

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The tax-to-GDP ratio needs to be raised for a sound macroeconomic situation in Bangladesh, according to new National Board of Revenue chairman Mohammad Abdur Rahman Khan.
At 7.3 per cent, the ratio is quite low for Bangladesh compared to its neighbours.
NBR would soon form three task-forces to amend laws on customs, income tax and value-added tax, he said.

The tax-to-gross domestic product (GDP) ratio needs to be raised for a sound macroeconomic situation in Bangladesh in future, according to new National Board of Revenue (NBR) chairman Mohammad Abdur Rahman Khan, who recently said NBR would soon form three task-forces to amend laws on customs, income tax (IT) and value-added tax (VAT).

At 7.3 per cent, the ratio is quite low for Bangladesh compared to India’s 12 per cent, Nepal’s 17.5 per cent, Bhutan’s 12.3p per cent and Pakistan’s 7.5 per cent, and therefore, tax collection needs to be enhanced, he said during his first meeting with senior NBR officials.

He lamented that the revenue collection target for NBR was very high in the budget, and was not done professionally, according to a domestic news agency.

Hence the government has been formulating a deficit budget for a long time, he said.

It receiving 67 per cent of its revenue from indirect tax, and therefore, direct tax collection needs to be raised, he said.

A mere 5.2 per cent of the total population in Bangladesh is under the tax net, while the figure is 23.08 per cent in India, he added.

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