Three task forces for revenue reform, focus on raising development expenditure: Titumir
Monthly action plans and specific milestones have been set for three revenue task forces.
Rashed Al Mahmud Titumir, adviser to the prime minister on finance, planning, and science and technology, today (17 June) announced that the government has formed three separate task forces for income tax, VAT, and customs to boost revenue collection
Speaking at a post-budget dialogue jointly organised by the Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI), Standard Chartered Bangladesh and the Policy Research Institute of Bangladesh (PRI) in Gulshan, he said the reforms aim to strengthen the revenue base through better compliance and transparency.
Titumir said that the government is pursuing a three-phase economic strategy- Recovery, Restoration, and Reconstruction for Acceleration. To achieve this, priority is being given to consumption, private investment, public expenditure, and export diversification.
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He said monthly action plans and specific milestones have been set for three revenue task forces, with progress being reviewed regularly.
He added that steps are being taken to address inconsistencies in revenue data and improve transparency in data management.
The adviser stressed that increasing revenue alone is not sufficient, noting that development and capital expenditure must also grow in proportion to operational spending.
He warned that the rapid rise in recurrent expenditure compared to development spending poses a long-term challenge for economic growth.
Titumir criticised delays in project implementation, noting that many development projects have been running for over a decade with repeated revisions.
He added that reforms are being introduced across the full project cycle, from formulation and approval to implementation, monitoring and evaluation.
Titumir said that a dashboard-based monitoring system is being introduced to track project progress in real time, alongside efforts to implement an open-data policy to improve transparency in policymaking and research.
Earlier, MCCI President Kamran T Rahman said that although the proposed budget includes positive measures such as tax administration modernisation, digitisation and business facilitation, achieving the Tk6.95 lakh crore revenue target would be difficult without major structural reforms.
He warned that pressure to meet the target could result in taxpayer harassment at the field level.
