Firms caught selling bonded goods to local market will lose licence: NBR chief
Instructions were given to sell the containers that have been lying at the port for a long time at auction quickly by December
Highlights
- Under bond facility, companies can import raw materials duty-free for export production
- Around 8,000 firms hold bond licences, mainly garment and accessories exporters
- Selling bonded goods locally costs the NBR an estimated Tk50,000 crore annually
- NBR warned that any revenue official involved in bond misuse will also face legal action
National Board of Revenue (NBR) Chairman Abdur Rahman Khan has warned that any company found selling goods or raw materials – imported under a bond facility for export production – in the open market will have its bond licence immediately revoked.
He issued the directive on Thursday (28 August) at a review meeting on revenue collection for July of FY26, attended by the NBR's customs, VAT, and income tax wings, according to NBR officials.
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Under the bond facility, companies can import raw materials duty-free for export production. But many divert them to the local market, evading an estimated Tk50,000 crore in revenue annually, according to the NBR. Such violations are currently addressed through "BIN lock" measures (suspending a company's tax ID to halt its trade operations) and criminal cases.
At the meeting, the NBR chairman said that any involvement of revenue officials or staff in such misuse of the bond facility will also be treated as a punishable offence under the law.
He sought updates from tax commissioners on steps to curb bond misuse, stressing zero tolerance and ordered bond audit findings to be presented at every meeting and directed customs houses to speed up auctions to ease container congestion, with long-stored containers to be cleared by December 2025.
Around 8,000 firms hold bond licenses under three NBR offices, mainly exporters allowed to import raw materials duty-free on condition of full export.
Garment and accessories factories make up a large share of license holders, and textile mill owners have long accused them of abuse.
Four to five years ago, NBR filed criminal cases and launched drives in Dhaka, Narayanganj, Gazipur, and Sirajganj, but enforcement has since weakened. As a result, the Bangladesh Textile Mills Association claims huge volumes of bonded goods are now being sold illegally. Former NBR chairman Nojibur Rahman earlier said annual misuse exceeds Tk50,000 crore.
Abdur Rahman Khan said, "Our main focus must be to ensure trade facilitation while achieving the desired level of revenue collection through proper enforcement of existing laws."
He advised against locking importers' or exporters' BINs on mere suspicion, recommending actions based on revenue risk assessments using past ASYCUDA records.
"Honest and compliant businesses must not be harmed by unnecessary BIN locks. Every customs house and intelligence office must explain why a BIN was locked and the revenue collected from such actions at each monthly meeting," he added.
The NBR chairman also emphasised strict enforcement of VAT laws, saying, "Those who comply should not face undue pressure. Non-payers must be brought under the VAT net, and evaders punished exemplarily."
NBR to digitise bond operations, strengthen tax collection
The NBR chairman has directed that all bond-related activities be made fully online within the next month, similar to the single-window system and online income tax return filing.
He advised setting deadlines for each online service and holding officials accountable if targets are not met.
To support taxpayers, he recommended sufficient staffing at all commissionerates for e-return assistance and instructed linking the eTIN and eTDS systems for automatic, continuous updating of taxpayer data.
Taxpayers with TINs who fail to file returns will receive notices, undergo field investigations of income, expenditure, and assets, and face tax assessments under the law, with updates presented at monthly revenue meetings.
Commissioners of Customs, VAT, and Income Tax, along with all NBR members, participated in the meeting and reaffirmed their commitment to maximising revenue collection and boosting the tax-to-GDP ratio.
