BSEC eases dividend remittance rules for foreign investors
Under the revised guidelines, listed companies must remit declared or approved dividends to non-resident foreign shareholders within 30 days of receiving the DTA certificate from the NBR.
The Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC) has relaxed dividend compliance requirements for foreign investors, tying the remittance deadline to the issuance of a Double Taxation Avoidance (DTA) certificate by the National Board of Revenue (NBR).
The decision was finalised at a commission meeting held today (1 September), according to a press release.
Under the revised guidelines, listed companies must remit declared or approved dividends to non-resident foreign shareholders within 30 days of receiving the DTA certificate from the NBR.
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However, the remittance must still be completed within the relevant financial year.
The move is expected to ease a key compliance challenge listed companies have faced in distributing dividends to overseas shareholders.
The BSEC has also revised the timeline for dividend compliance reporting by listed companies. After completing dividend distribution to domestic shareholders, companies will now be required to submit a Preliminary Dividend Compliance Report.
Following the remittance of dividends to foreign shareholders, companies will then have to submit a final Dividend Compliance Report to the BSEC and the respective stock exchange within 30 days of the remittance.
The revised framework is intended to improve transparency while providing companies with greater flexibility to complete dividend payments to non-resident investors.
Previously, listed companies faced difficulties meeting fixed dividend remittance deadlines because obtaining DTA certificates from the NBR could take time. Such administrative delays created a mismatch between the regulatory deadline for dividend payment and the actual availability of the required tax documentation.
By starting the 30-day remittance period from the date of receiving the DTA certificate, the BSEC has sought to align the compliance requirement with the actual process of obtaining tax relief documentation.
Market analysts believe that by linking the 30-day deadline to the receipt of the NBR's tax certificate, the BSEC is providing a more realistic and enforceable timeline for companies.
This clarity is being seen as a positive signal to global fund managers, suggesting that Bangladesh is moving toward international best practices in dividend processing and capital repatriation.
