Grameen Bank received no ‘special treatment’ in tax exemption, says NBR chairman

"We never intended to give them any special treatment, and we didn’t offer it,” Md Abdur Rahman Khan says

Grameen Bank has received no “special treatment” when the government granted it a tax exemption until 2029, conditional upon submitting its income tax returns, says National Board of Revenue (NBR) Chairman Md Abdur Rahman Khan.

When asked about the “justification” for granting an exemption to Grameen Bank when similar organisations had not received one, he said: “We believe that we have given them the advantage that other similar organisations receive. Let’s not talk about this for now.”

"We never intended to give them any special treatment and we didn’t offer it,” the NBR chief said at a seminar on changes in the 2025-26 budget on Monday.

A journalist noted that Grameen Bank receives a tax exemption on all kinds of income and also on the interest it earns.

Organisations similar to Grameen Bank and other banks are not getting tax exemptions on interest earnings, the journalist said, asking why only Grameen Bank had received it.

In response, the NBR chairman said: “I don’t understand what you have said.”

"What we did was we provided them a benefit already given to organisations similar to Grameen Bank. Let’s not talk about this now.”

After the interim government took over in August last year, the NBR granted a tax exemption to Grameen Bank until 2029.

Since its establishment in 1983 under a military ordinance, Grameen Bank has consistently received tax exemption benefits.

This privilege falls under Section 33 of the Grameen Bank Ordinance, which has remained effective even after the ordinance was enacted into law in 2013.

Muhammad Yunus, who served as the managing director of the bank for 28 years since its inception, is now the head of Bangladesh's interim government.

Grameen Bank and Yunus were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006 in recognition of their efforts to alleviate poverty through microcredit.