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National Board of Revenue chairman Md Abdur Rahman Khan on Wednesday said that the government was working to establish a system of rewarding compliant taxpayers.

He also urged the authorised economic operators and compliant taxpayers to share their experiences.

He was speaking at a ‘Meet the Business› event hosted by the NBR for the Foreign Investors’ Chamber of Commerce and Industry at the NBR headquarters in Dhaka.

Including FICCI director Md Mahbubur Rahman and executive director TIM Nurul Kabir, 85 representatives from FICCI member companies were present.

Nurul Kabir moderated the event while NBR member Mutasim Billah Faruqui gave the welcome address.

‘The government is working to make the country’s tax system more transparent, technology-driven and business-friendly, with a special focus on enabling tax refunds for compliant taxpayers,’ he added.

He also stated that, in the past year, they were unable to offer any cash refunds to taxpayers. This year, they hope to sit together and explore ways to make tax refunds more accessible.

‘Often, we hear that the tax burden always increases on compliant taxpayers, while non-compliant ones remain outside the system. We are working to correct that imbalance,’ he added.

He also stated that filing income tax returns has been made compulsory this year, while corporate tax returns will be submitted online from next year.

‘It ensures transparency; no information can be twisted, altered, or modified. This would create a transparent tax culture in the country,’ he added.

Responding to a question, he said that tax officials must focus on lawful collection, not inflated targets.

‘They should collect the tax that is lawfully due, as there is no need to collect excessive tax by coercion or informal means,’ he added.

He also reaffirmed their zero-tolerance stance against harassment of taxpayers, particularly in customs valuation.

‘We have received complaints of inflated valuations and manipulation, and we are taking them seriously,’ he added, saying that the officers must take the tax that is legitimately due, they don’t need inflated valuations to collect extra tax.

He also warned that under-invoicing and false declarations would not be tolerated.

‘If someone brings in goods worth Tk 100 but declares them as Tk 50, we will definitely catch them. But when the declared value is correct, harassment in the name of valuation is not acceptable,’ he added.

Responding to a question on Bangladesh’s tax laws, he said that the laws are still not fully aligned with international standards.

‘The reforms would follow gradually as discipline and compliance improve in the field level,’ he added.

The digitalisation and reform of tax laws remained top priorities to bring discipline and efficiency to the revenue administration.

They are trying hard to make everything digital, so that it would be very difficult, if not impossible, to tamper with the system in the coming days, he added.

To align with international standards, major tax laws, including income tax, customs, and VAT, will be available in English in official form.

He also announced that the NBR would soon bring all Double Taxation Agreement-related certificates under a fully digital platform through the National Single Window system, simplifying and speeding up services.

‘So far, around 625,000 certificates, licenses, and permits have been issued through the Single Window system. Now, 80 per cent of certificates are issued within one hour of submission,’ he added.

Eighteen more government and regulatory agencies, including the NBR, are being integrated into the platform, he added.

DTA-related certificates—such as for royalties, business profits, dividends, and interest—would soon be available online, he also said.

He acknowledged that complaints of anomalies persist in customs houses across the country, which he described as a ‘big problem’ requiring urgent reform.

‘Consignments cleared within an hour usually face no trouble, but those that get held up for bargaining, that’s where the complications arise,’ he added.

In response to a question from Marico Bangladesh’s representative, Md Sharif, the NBR chairman said that they no longer provide tax exemptions. Those decisions now lie with parliament, which has reduced pressure on them.

During the discussion, Daraz representative Hasibul Quddus demanded that online and offline product sellers be brought under a uniform 15 per cent VAT structure.

The NBR chairman replied that only about six lakh traders have VAT registration, while many at the retail level are still outside the system.

A representative from Coca-Cola raised concerns that high taxes are reducing the company’s profit margins.

‘We are under pressure from the health and environmental activists regarding tobacco and beverage taxation,’ the NBR chief added.

The participants at the meeting also discussed issues related to taxation, customs, and duty challenges faced by businesses operating in Bangladesh, presenting their concerns and complaints directly to the NBR›s top officials.