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Published : 11 Jun 2026, 08:47 PM
The Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI) has dubbed the proposed national budget for fiscal year 2026-27 as business-friendly, stressing that its success will depend on effective implementation of announced reforms and the achievement of ambitious revenue targets.
The organisation shared its immediate reaction to the budget at its office in Motijheel after Finance Minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury presented it in the parliament on Thursday.
DCCI President Taskeen Ahmed noted that a total budget of Tk 9.38 trillion has been proposed for the 2026-27 fiscal year, which is 19.04 percent higher than the previous year.
He added that increasing the revenue target by 30.34 percent is challenging under the current economic conditions, and relying on borrowing to meet the deficit is not favourable for the recovery of the banking sector and the flow of credit to private investment.
“The target of reducing operational expenditure, however, appears positive.”
Furthermore, he pointed out that although the new Annual Development Programme (ADP) of Tk 3 trillion was 30 percent larger than last year's, the current year's implementation rate of just 36.19 percent was evidence of weak capacity.
“The Dhaka Chamber believes the emphasis must be placed on successful implementation rather than merely announcing a large budget and ADP.”
Referring to tax management, Taskeen said a long-standing demand of the business community had been met by treating source tax as an advance tax.
He lauded the reduction of source tax on industrial raw materials to 4 percent, the 0.5 percent source tax on 60 daily essentials, the advance announcement of a five-year tax structure, alongside the tax exemptions for healthcare, renewable energy, and electric vehicle sectors.
Welcoming the expansion of the tax net without increasing VAT rates, along with the provision for quarterly online VAT returns, he noted that keeping the tax-free income threshold unchanged despite inflation and setting the maximum income tax rate at 35 percent was disappointing.
“The DCCI is demanding that the tax-free limit be raised to Tk 500,000.”
Taskeen also described the reduction of customs duty and the elimination of advance tax on importing POS machines for cashless transactions as a groundbreaking step.
Noting that tax reductions on electric vehicles, mobile phones, refrigerators, air conditioners and technology products would create opportunities for greater investment in domestic industries, he said: “The initiative to establish free trade zones will support the expansion of trade and investment.
“At the same time, we welcome the imposition of an additional 5 percent VAT and full duty exemptions on imports of raw materials for domestic electric bus and truck manufacturers, as well as the extension of all concessional benefits for imports of components by local e-bike manufacturers and assemblers.”
The DCCI chief described the VAT exemption for electric vehicles until 2030, the reduction of advance income tax at registration, and the elimination of taxes on the import of charging network equipment as landmark initiatives.
“However, the measures for drilling wells for gas exploration remain far below what is required. DCCI believes that without a clear pricing structure for imported energy, short-term subsidies will encourage waste rather than investment.”
He also called for the formulation of a long-term energy pricing framework based on consultations with relevant stakeholders.
