Welcome to Business Outlook
Related Articles
The National Board of Revenue asked the Bangladesh Bank to make value added tax registration, or business identification number, mandatory for opening and operating all business current and short-term deposit accounts as part of efforts to expand the VAT net and increase revenue collection.
In a letter sent on Monday, the NBR urged the central bank to instruct all banks and non-bank financial institutions to ensure that both new and existing business current and short-term deposit or STD accounts are linked to a BIN.
The letter, signed by Sheikh Md Masudur Rahman, second secretary of the NBR’s VAT Wing, was addressed to the executive director of Bangladesh Bank’s Banking Regulation and Policy Department.
The move follows the national budget for the financial year 2026-27, which made BIN registration mandatory for businesses to open and operate bank accounts, obtain loans and access a range of financial and regulatory services.
According to the letter, a BIN would also be required to obtain loans, renew trade licences, open merchant accounts with mobile financial service providers, secure gas and electricity connections in the name of a business and register business-owned vehicles with the Bangladesh Road Transport Authority.
The NBR also requested the Bangladesh Bank to issue the necessary directives to ensure effective implementation of the requirement at the field level.
According to NBR officials, the revenue authority expects to bring about 2 million new businesses under VAT registration within a year, significantly broadening the VAT net.
