United News of Bangladesh

The Central Intelligence Cell (CIC) of the National Board of Revenue (NBR) has uncovered assets worth an estimated Tk 40,000 crore laundered from Bangladesh to various countries around the world, officials said on Sunday. CIC Director General Ahsan Habib shared the information with Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus during a briefing at the State Guest House Jamuna. NBR Chairman Md Abdur Rahman Khan was also present. Ahsan  said the findings are the result of extensive searches conducted in seven cities across five countries since January this year. “So far, we have identified 346 properties overseas that were built using laundered money, registered in the names of individuals and organisations. This is only a partial picture of the full extent of the operation,” he said. In addition to the assets, CIC investigations found that 352 passports had been acquired by Bangladeshi nationals in exchange for money in nine countries. The countries are Antigua and Barbuda, Austria, Dominica, Grenada, Saint Kitts and Nevis, North Macedonia, Malta, Saint Lucia, and Turkey. CIC officers travelled abroad following extensive preparatory work and intelligence gathering in Bangladesh. “What we have found so far is just the tip of the iceberg,” said Habib. He mentioned several international organisations are cooperating with Bangladesh to aid in the investigation and recovery process. He added that CIC is now working to confiscate these assets and bring them under the ownership of Bangladesh. Legal action is also being pursued against the individuals and entities involved. ‘Zero tax returns’ illegal, may invite imprisonment: NBR Habib further disclosed that during the tenure of Sheikh Hasina, people involved in laundering money had strategically placed their own people within the Central Bank's Core Banking System (CBS) control process to erase key information. However, he said the CIC has now developed the capability to recover deleted data. Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus said appropriate measures must be taken in collaboration with the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC), the police’s Criminal Investigation Department (CID), and other relevant agencies to identify those involved. He said such an example should be set so that no one dares to loot the nation’s wealth in the future. Prof Yunus instructed the CIC to expand its investigation into additional countries and assured full government support for the recovery of assets and prosecution of offenders. Terming this looting of the country's economic sector as a terrible act of treason, the chief Adviser said, "If we want to build a beautiful country for future generations, these looters must be brought to justice." He said all relevant organisations must work together to expose how some people have looted the country's resources.

Chairman of the National Board of Revenue (NBR) Md Abdur Rahman Khan on Saturday said it is difficult to establish good governance in tax management if political will is not reflected properly. “Due to the political will of the current government, decision-making in establishing good governance in tax administration is becoming easier,” he said while speaking at a programme organised by a shadow parliament on tax management reforms at FDC in the capital. The NBR chairman said more tax exemptions are being given than the amount of tax collected. “We have taken the initiative to amend the tax laws.” In this connection, he mentioned that the government will no longer be able to grant tax exemptions at its own choice. “In the national interest, only Parliament can consider the issue of tax exemption through a finance bill,” the NBR chief said. He also acknowledged a collective failure to curb under-invoicing and over-invoicing in import and export activities. NBR Chairman seeks to create business-friendly tax regime “In the current era, the price of a product in any part of the world can be known at the touch of a button.Banks and customs can be sure about the price by checking and verifying this issue while opening a letter of credit,” he said. Abdur Rahman said mispricing in import-export harms compliant businesses and genuine taxpayers, with corruption remaining a major obstacle in the tax system. “Corruption in the tax system can be prevented only by establishing accountability and good governance,” he added. He also said there is no tax education in Bangladesh. Only a couple of subjects are included in higher education. Considering the importance of tax education, it is necessary to include tax in every field of primary, secondary and higher education. Organised by Debate for Democracy, the competition was presided over by its Chairman Hasan Ahmed Chowdhury Kiron.

National Board of Revenue (NBR) Chairman Md Abdur Rahman Khan on Tuesday underscored the need for boosting revenue collection and enhancing operational efficiency across customs activities. He emphasized faster cargo clearance under risk management, strengthening enforcement, expanding automation, ensuring compliance with import policy orders, reducing legal disputes, and intensifying arrear recovery efforts. He made the remarks during a view-exchange meeting with officials and employees of Customs House, Mongla; Customs, Excise and VAT Commissionerate, Khulna; Tax Zone, Khulna; and Customs and Income Tax Sub-Division, as well as with C&F agents and journalists. The NBR chairman highlighted the urgent need to expand the number of registered income tax and VAT payers. He called for stricter monitoring of both compliant and non-compliant taxpayers, urging a shift in focus from mere revenue growth to broadening the tax base. He suggested adopting long-term (5-6 year) strategic plans to significantly increase the number of registered taxpayers. Identifying zero-return filers who are not actual taxpayers should also be prioritized, he said. Khan directed all relevant offices to expedite the implementation of ongoing projects related to income tax, VAT, and customs. He also stressed the importance of conducting timely annual audits to avoid prolonged review periods that could harm businesses. Addressing infrastructure gaps, the NBR chairman assured officials that a permanent office for Customs House, Mongla would be established soon. He also committed to improving housing facilities for customs officials and staff. NBR, BAERA sign MoU to boost trade through Bangladesh Single Window system In response to the vehicle shortage raised by officials of the Khulna Customs, Excise, and VAT Commissionerate, he promised to arrange additional vehicles through purchase or lease. He further pledged that a centralized licensing system would soon replace the existing reference-based licensing for C&F agents, shipping agents, and freight forwarders. To improve inter-agency coordination, the Chairman instructed full integration of the Automated Risk Management System (ARMS), Bangladesh Single Window (BSW), and Automated System for Customs Data (ASYCUDA) into customs operations. He also directed the submission of a comprehensive list of products sent to institutions such as BUET and KUET for chemical testing and quality verification to the NBR Member (Customs: Policy). Highlighting the critical role of the revenue department in national economic stability, Khan warned that any disruption in revenue functions could severely impact the country. He placed special emphasis on enhancing the operational efficiency of Mongla Customs House and urged all stakeholders—including importers, exporters, C&F agents, port authorities, and customs officials—to prioritize national interest, avoid rumors, and work in unison to ensure smooth revenue collection. Khan expressed satisfaction with the overall performance of Mongla Customs House and reiterated that improved efficiency is essential to keep pace with global standards. Earlier, the NBR chairman visited Customs House, Mongla, where he expressed deep condolences over the recent crash of a Bangladesh Air Force training aircraft near Milestone School and College in Dhaka. He inspected various operational areas, including the container yard, port car storage yard, and the vehicle storage yard prepared for auction, and held discussions with staff on workflow improvements.

The National Board of Revenue (NBR) has selected 15,494 income tax cases for audit through random selection method sensing tax evasion. In order to ensure complete transparency in the method of selecting income tax returns for audit, the NBR has started the process of selecting income tax returns for audit in a fully-automated manner based on Risk Based Audit Selection Criterion, acaccording to an NBR media release. To complete this process, the media release says, more time is needed to enter the complete information of all paper returns filed offline in the database. In order to keep the audit activities moving, 0.5% of the returns of each circle filed for the tax year 2023-24 have been selected for audit by the National Board of Revenue through Random Selection method in a digital manner until a fully automated method is implemented based on Risk Based Audit Selection Criterion. In order to prevent the same taxpayer's income tax return from being selected for audit repeatedly, the income tax returns of all taxpayers whose income tax returns were selected for audit in the previous two years have been excluded from the random selection for the 2023-24 tax year. NBR chief orders action against TIN holders evading tax or skipping return filings In this method, a total of 15,494 taxpayers from all tax commissionerates across the country have been selected for the 2023-24 tax year income tax return audit. Although transparency and impartiality can be ensured in the Random Selection method, some uncertainty remains about the desired results, the NBR said in its media release. The NBR claims that it is committed to selecting income tax returns for audit in a fully-automated manner based on the risk based audit selection criterion by completing the entry into the database of all paper returns filed offline as soon as possible. If this work can be fully implemented, it will be possible to collect the desired amount of revenue by ensuring complete transparency, impartiality and effectiveness of the income tax return audit selection process, the media release added.

The government is determined to implement the separation of the National Board of Revenue (NBR) completely within December this year, a senior official said on Sunday. “It’s already divided. We will implement it in full-fledged way by December this year. We will surely do that,” said the official of the Finance Ministry, wishing anonymity as he is not authorised to speak to the media. He, however, said that the government will make some amendments in the ordinance before implementing it fully. “A committee is working on the negotiations, and they will submit their report to us,” he said. The government on June 29 has formed a five-member adviser-level committee to resolve the ongoing crisis centering its separation at the National Board of Revenue (NBR) led by Energy Adviser Fouzul Kabir Khan. Other members include Housing and Public Works Adviser Adilur Rahman Khan, Labour and Employment Adviser Brigadier General (Retd) M Sakhawat Hussain, Environment, Forest and Climate Change Adviser Syeda Rizwana Hasan, and Commerce Adviser Sk Bashir Uddin. “The committee has already held meetings with NBR officials who staged agitations since May 13 and the business community. They will submit their report, and after that we will induce the amendments,” the top official said. He said there will be two divisions under the finance ministry, Revenue Policy Division and the Revenue Management Division. “Both will be powerful, two separate secretaries will be appointed to make these two divisions powerful ones,” he said. The officials and employees of the NBR, under the banner of the NBR Reform Unity Council, had begun their protests after the government issued an ordinance on May 12 dissolving the NBR and the Internal Resources Division, replacing them with the Revenue Policy Division and the Revenue Management Division, with scope to inject Admin Cadre officials in these two divisions. They held a complete shutdown, march for NBR, work abstentions, hunger strikes, and human chains, disrupting services in tax, VAT and customs offices across the country. The NBR Reform Unity Council held a series of protest programmes demanding structural reforms and the removal of the NBR chairman citing allegations of administrative irregularities, officer intimidation, and obstruction of pro-reform efforts. On June 29, the NBR Reform Unity Council called off their complete shutdown programme after a fruitful negotiation by the business leaders of the country. But, after that the NBR has been gripped by an uneasy situation as some of its top officials were sent into forced retirement and others put under the Anti-Corruption Commission’s (ACC) scanner allegedly for their involvement in the recent movement under the banner of the ‘NBR Reform Unity Council’. The situation seemed to be normal as Finance Adviser Salehuddin Ahmed asked the NBR officials to start their work “without fear and favour” and NBR Chairman Md Abdur Rahman Khan requested all to work for the country “forgetting past disputes”. NBR first secretary Tanzina suspended The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) launched a probe against eleven senior officials of the NBR on charges of corruption, abuse of power and nepotism in facilitating illegal benefits for individuals and institutions over the past two decades. Te officials under investigation are: AKM Badiul Alam, Member (Income Tax Policy); Mirza Ashiq Rana, Additional Tax Commissioner, Tax Zone-8, Dhaka; Mohammad Morshed Uddin Khan, Joint Tax Commissioner, BCS Tax Academy; Monalisa Shahreen Sushmita, Deputy Tax Commissioner, Tax Zone-16, Dhaka; Hasan Tarek Rikabdar, Additional Commissioner, Audit, Intelligence and Investigation Directorate, VAT, Dhaka; and Sadhan Kumar Kundu, Additional Commissioner, Customs, Excise and VAT Commissionerate, Dhaka (South). Among them, Hasan Tarek serves as the president of the NBR Reform Unity Council and others joined the movement in different categories. The other officials facing the probe are Abdul Rashid Miah, Additional Commissioner, Large Taxpayers Unit (VAT); Md Lutfur Azim, Member; Md Alamgir Hossain, former Additional Director General, Customs Intelligence and Investigation Directorate (CIID); Md Shihabul Islam, Deputy Tax Commissioner, Tax Zone-16, Dhaka; and Md Tarek Hasan, Joint Commissioner. That is not all. The government sent three NBR members, who were the top most officials of the cadre, into early retirement. According to the Internal Resources Division  website, all of them were sent to forced retirement for the sake of public interest. They are-- Hossain Ahmed (customs policy and ICT), Md Alamgir Hossain and Md Abdur Rouf (VAT policy). The IRD also sent Md. Sobbir Ahmed, (Commissoner of Taxes Zone- Barishal) and M Moinul Erfan (joint director general of Tax inspection directorate) into early retirement. The National Board of Revenue (NBR) has suspended Commissioner (in-charge) of Chattogram Custom House Md Zakir Hossain for allegedly disobeying official instructions that resulted in disruption of trade activities and significant revenue losses.

Finance Adviser Dr Salehuddin Ahmed on Tuesday said he is “more or less satisfied” with the revenue collection performance of the National Board of Revenue (NBR) for the fiscal year 2024–25. “The collection this time is moderate, the gap is not that much huge,” he said while briefing reporters after the Cabinet Committee on Government Purchase (CCGP) meeting held at the cabinet division of the Secretariat. On Monday, NBR chairman Md Abdur Rahman Khan while visiting Dhaka Customs House told reporters that the provisional collection of the NBR for 2024-25 fiscal is Tk 3,68,177 crore and it would increase slightly in the final calculation. The National Board of Revenue (NBR) had a revised revenue collection target of Tk 463,500 crore for the 2024-25 fiscal year while it was Tk 4,80,000 crore in the original budget. The Finance adviser said that in the running 2025-26 fiscal the government is trying to change the system of the tax collection to enhance revenue collection. “There will be no leakage, no problem for the businessmen,” he said. He also said that this time the government would not put stress on the collection of tax and VAT rather it will bring changes in the total system. Dr Salehuddin said that the potential of tax collection is huge in Bangladesh as the potential tax base of the country is wide enough. “We failed to utilise it  that resulted in problems in the revenue collection,” he said. NBR officials shaken by government’s recent moves to quell internal unrest The national budget for FY2025–26 set the revenue collection target at Tk5.64 lakh crore which is equivalent to 9% of the country's Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Of the total estimated revenue income of Tk5.64 lakh crore, Tk4.99 lakh crore is expected to be collected through the NBR, while the remaining Tk65,000 crore is projected to come from other sources. Of the toral amount of NBR side, the Taxes on Income,Profits and Capital Gains will be Tk 1,82,001 crore,  Value Added Tax will be Tk 1,88,518 crore, Supplementary Tax will be Tk 68,244 crore, Import Duty Tk 51,438, Export Duty Tk 78 crore, Excise Duty Tk 6,091 crore and Tk 2,630 will be come from Other Taxes segment.

The National Board of Revenue (NBR), in partnership with the Finance Division, has introduced the ‘a-chalan’ system, enabling real-time, direct deposit of customs duties and taxes into the government treasury. This new digital platform allows importers, exporters, and C&F agents to pay taxes and duties related to import and export activities online, marking a significant step towards automation at the beginning of the new fiscal year, according to a press release. This initiative integrates NBR’s Asycuda World system with the Finance Division’s iBAS++ platform, enabling taxpayers to deposit dues directly from their bank accounts—either online or offline—into the government treasury. This new method replaces the previous Real-Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) system, where payments often took days to reflect in the treasury, causing financial delays. With a-chalan, taxpayers can now pay duties and taxes anytime (24/7) from anywhere, and receive a system-generated receipt number to facilitate the fastest possible clearance of goods from ports. According to the press release, the system was officially rolled out at Chattogram Custom House on July 3, 2025, following successful training of customs officials, C&F agents, and traders on July 1–2. NBR enabling companies to file VAT returns from their own systems On the launch day, over Tk 13 crore in customs duties was instantly deposited to the treasury against 75 bill entries through scheduled banks, including Sonali Bank. The a-chalan system supports multiple payment modes, including internet banking, debit/credit cards, and mobile financial services (such as bKash, Rocket, Nagad, Upay, Mcash, and TrustPay). Besides, duty payments can be made through account debits or cheque clearing at any of the 11,700 branches of 61 scheduled banks. Earlier, the system was piloted at ICD Kamalapur Customs House on April 23, 2025, followed by implementation at Pangaon Customs House. Chattogram is the third customs station to adopt the system. From July 7, 2025, Dhaka Customs House and all other customs houses across the country will also begin accepting duty payments directly through a-chalan.

The interim government on Sunday warned that it would be compelled to be tough to protect the country’s economy and the interests of its people if the officials and employees of the National Board of Revenue (NBR) do not return to their work. “We hope that the officials and employees will return to work immediately and refrain from illegal and destructive activities against national interests. Otherwise, the government will be compelled to turn tough to protect the people and the economy of the country,” said the government in a statement shared by the Chief Adviser’s press wing. The government said it decided to restructure the NBR in consultation with all relevant stakeholders, aiming to address weaknesses in the country’s revenue management system. The government, according to the statement, has also decided to declare all categories of jobs under customs houses, ICDs, bond commissionerates and customs stations, under the jurisdiction of the NBR, as ‘Essential Services’ to ensure uninterrupted import-export and foreign trade activities in the national interest. Bangladesh's biggest challenge in implementing development-oriented budgetary activities is the weak revenue collection structure. The amount of revenue collected remains significantly lower than the state’s requirements, primarily due to inefficiencies, irregularities and corruption within the revenue collection system, the government mentions. Finance Adviser ‘declines’ meeting with NBR Reform Unity Council amid protests Besides, the current interim government expressed deep concern over attempts by a ‘section of NBR officials and employees’ to obstruct the ongoing revenue reforms. "For the past two months, in the guise of a movement, they have severely disrupted trade, imports, exports and revenue collection activities, causing widespread public suffering. Such actions are entirely unacceptable," the statement reads. The statement further mentions that beyond resisting reforms, the agitating officials have seriously hampered revenue collection during the last two months of the fiscal year. "This so-called movement is pre-planned and ill-intentioned, posing a direct threat to national interests and the rights of citizens," it adds. The government reiterated that it had made clear announcements to consider the demands of NBR officials and called for dialogue to resolve the crisis. "They, however, rejected this offer and have continued to harm the economy with their rigid stance under the banner of a movement, rather than seeking an acceptable solution through discussions," said the government.  

National Board of Revenue(NBR) officials under the banner of NBR Unity Council continued their ‘complete shutdown’ for the second consecutive day on Sunday, demanding  the immediate removal of its Chairman. Protesting officials staged a sit-in in front of the NBR headquarters in Agargaon this morning while a large number of Rapid Action Battalion (Rab), Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB), and police personnel were deployed inside the building. Unity council Secretary General Sehela Siddika said that some NBR members have already given them some proposals to find a solution to resolve the crisis. "We may sit at the Finance Adviser’s office this afternoon," she said. The NBR Reform Unity Council on Saturday through a statement announced that their ongoing complete shutdown and peaceful march will continue on Sunday. There will be a complete shutdown in all tax, customs and VAT offices but international services will be excluded from this complete shutdown, they said . In a statement also expressed discontent over the business community’s statenment that the removal of the NBR Chairman is in no way desirable and would not bring any success. “We express our deep regret that their press release does not clarify why the removal of a bureaucrat—who has become a collaborator of a fallen fascist regime—is not desirable to them,” it said. The Unity Council reaffirmed their stance saying they have already clarified why the removal of NBR Chairman Abdur Rahman Khan, “a collaborator of the fascist government,” is essential for “complete, genuine, sustainable, and realistic” reforms of the revenue system.  “We hope that the government, the business community, and the people of the country will support our demand for the removal of this controversial NBR Chairman,” it added. NBR Reform Unity Council leaders to join Tuesday’s meet to resolve crisis The Council also expressed willingness to hold discussions with the Finance Adviser on Tuesday to resolve the situation. The NBR Reform Unity Council has been demonstrating with a series of protest programmes demanding structural reforms and the removal of the NBR Chairman citing allegations of administrative irregularities, officer intimidation, and obstruction of pro-reform efforts. Since early June the agitating officials have held work abstentions, hunger strikes, and human chains, disrupting services in tax, VAT and customs offices across the country. The protests began after the government issued an ordinance on May 12 dissolving the NBR and the Internal Resources Division, replacing them with the Revenue Policy Division and the Revenue Management Division. Earlier, Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) imposed a ban on public gatherings, processions, and rallies from the Shishu Mela under Sher-e-Bangla Nagar Police Station, NBR Office (National Board of Revenue), BIDA Office (Bangladesh Investment Development Authority) on Agargaon Road and its surrounding areas for an indefinite period beginning from June 22.

The National Board of Revenue (NBR) has recovered Tk 994 crore over the past nine months in anti-tax evasion drives by its field offices and intelligence units. According to NBR data, from September 2024 to May 2025, a total of 16,572 operations were conducted across two wings—Customs and Income Tax—by field offices and affiliated intelligence agencies. These drives uncovered revenue evasion amounting to Tk 6,246 crore, according to a press release on Tuesday. During this period, various Customs Houses carried out 2,215 operations, identifying Tk 183 crore in evaded revenue, all of which has been recovered. Meanwhile, Customs, Excise, and VAT Commissionerates conducted 6,803 operations uncovering Tk 513 crore, with Tk 89 crore already collected. NBR forms six-member committee to work on separation of policy and management The Directorate of VAT Audit, Intelligence, and Investigation, Dhaka (VAT Intelligence), carried out 231 drives, detecting evasion of Tk 1,639 crore and recovering Tk 240 crore. The Customs Intelligence and Investigation Directorate recovered Tk 73 crore from its drives over the same period. Separately, the Central Intelligence Cell (CIC) conducted 181 operations, identifying Tk 366 crore in income tax evasion and collecting Tk 194 crore. The Income Tax Intelligence and Investigation Unit carried out 170 operations, identifying Tk 1,874 crore in evasion, of which Tk 110 crore has been recovered. Additionally, 41 tax zones across the country collectively conducted 6,972 drives, uncovering evasion of Tk 1,588 crore and recovering Tk 105 crore. The NBR press release stated that these efforts are part of its ongoing strategy to meet national revenue targets and support the country’s development goals by curbing tax evasion and enhancing enforcement.