NBR Chairman Md Abdur Rahman Khan -File Photo

DHAKA, April 17, 2025 (BSS) - National Board of Revenue (NBR) Chairman Md Abdur Rahman Khan today categorically said that the government is firm to facilitate the local producers.

"In principle, we have said that there shall be a duty gap between our manufacturers and commercial importers," he said. 

Rahman said this while speaking at a pre-budget meeting held at the conference room of the Revenue Building here in the capital.

The revenue board chief said that the NBR must remove all the barriers from the way of honest and compliant business people.

"But just remember one thing, if anyone misuses any facility, that person will not be allowed to do business in Bangladesh anymore," he warned. 

The NBR Chairman also mentioned that his organisation is ready to do everything for the sake of removing hurdles for trade and commerce in the country aiming to gain greater revenue collection. 

Expressing dissatisfaction over the lower number of Value Added Tax (VAT) registrations in the country, Abdur Rahman Khan said that there is no reason to have a VAT registered number below six lakh. 

"This number should have crossed the one crore mark many days back," he said.

In this connection, Rahman said that to increase the VAT-registered business entities, the NBR installed an electronic fiscal device (EFD) of its own and later gave it to a third party after getting impressive results.

"But that also failed to fare better. We're now working on various types of alternatives, you will see the results within the shortest possible time," he said. 

The NBR Chairman said that he is under pressure from the development partners due to the very low tax-GDP ratio of the country. 

"In the morning and evening, the development partners are pressing me for this very low ratio. The reality is very much true, no country in the world collects such lower revenue," he said. 

Bangladesh's tax-to-GDP ratio stands at 7.3%, significantly lower than neighbouring countries like India (12%), Nepal (17.5%), Bhutan (12.3%), and Pakistan (7.5%). This low ratio hampers the government's ability to invest in critical sectors such as health, education, and social protection, thereby affecting economic growth and perpetuating poverty and inequality. 
 
The National Board of Revenue (NBR) is actively working to improve this ratio by targeting tax evasion and increasing compliance. Currently, out of approximately 11.4 million Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN) holders, only 4 million have submitted their income tax returns.

Efforts are underway to address this gap and enhance revenue collection.