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Published : 25 Apr 2026, 09:42 PM
The Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI) has proposed a one-page digital tax return that could be filed through a mobile app, saying a simpler system would reduce taxpayer anxiety and help expand Bangladesh’s tax base.
The proposal was placed at a pre-budget meeting for the 2026–27 fiscal year at the National Board of Revenue (NBR) headquarters in Dhaka on Saturday.
MCCI President Kamran T Rahman said more people would file returns if the process were easier and more accessible.
He also proposed a symbolic minimum annual tax of Tk 100 or Tk 1,000 to bring new taxpayers and parts of the informal economy into the tax net.
Rahman urged the government to frame a “supportive” rather than “punitive” budget.
More than 10 million people hold e-TINs, he said, but fewer than half regularly submit returns.
“This is a major weakness in our tax structure,” he said.
He added that about 90 percent of the economy depends on the informal sector, making it difficult to raise the tax-to-GDP ratio without drawing more of that segment into formal taxation.
NBR Chairman Md Abdur Rahman Khan also addressed the meeting, outlining plans to curb tax evasion and raise revenue.
He said the largest leakage was in the tobacco sector.
“We hear that compliant and non-compliant taxpayers have similar market shares, but we do not receive comparable revenue. So we will start with tobacco,” he said.
He said authorities planned to strengthen monitoring through redesigned cigarette banderoles, improved seals and advanced QR-style coding.
Khan added that while the combined 83 percent supplementary duty, VAT and health surcharge on cigarettes would remain unchanged, tobacco prices could still rise.
“Revenue from tobacco must increase. Tobacco must become more costly,” he said.
