NBR Chairman Md Abdur Rahman Khan. File Photo

DHAKA, March 18, 2025 (BSS) - National Board of Revenue (NBR) Chairman Md Abdur Rahman Khan today hinted that the country’s overall duty structure is likely to be reduced in the days to come.

“We’re moving towards LDC graduation. We can’t impose duty at will anymore, so we’ll reduce this duty gradually,” he said while speaking at a pre-budget meeting at the conference room of the Revenue Building in the capital’s Agargaon area today.

The NBR chairman said the revenue board is putting emphasis on income tax and Value Added Tax (VAT) as key areas for revenue mobilization.

“All customs issues should be targeted for trade facilitation, not for revenue collection,” he said.

Rahman said any duty reduction or imposition is done for the sake of national interest.

“We’ll not increase duty just to boost revenue collection, it’ll be done for the protection of local industries and for serving the national interest,” he said.

Md Abdur Rahman Khan said the NBR is working to make the tax system more convenient for taxpayers.

“We’ll make sure that you’ll not be subjected to oppression,” he assured.

Regarding VAT rates, he said that if all business entities agreed, the NBR would move towards a single VAT rate.

He also assured that the corporate tax rates would be rationalised in the upcoming budget.

Speaking on tax file audits, the NBR chairman said audit selection for income tax and VAT files has been halted until the full automation of the system.

Once automation is completed, audit selection will be conducted automatically using artificial intelligence, he added.