NBR to pursue ‘One NBR’ system to raise tax-GDP ratio to 15% by 2035

The National Board of Revenue (NBR) has outlined a comprehensive reform and capacity-building roadmap to raise Bangladesh’s tax-to-GDP ratio from the current 6.8% to 15% by 2035 through a “One NBR” architecture focused on widening the tax base, strengthening compliance, improving digital systems and integrating tax administration.
Under the proposed system, the income tax, customs and VAT wings will work in an integrated manner. The roadmap sets an interim target of 8.8% in the short term and 10% in the medium term before reaching 15% by 2035.
The revenue authority presented the roadmap at the second meeting of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on the Ministry of Finance last month, highlighting the need to improve revenue productivity to keep pace with rising government expenditure.
The NBR said achieving the FY27 revenue target and raising the tax-GDP ratio cannot rely solely on higher tax rates, but requires a major expansion of the tax base, greater use of technology and data, and improved taxpayer compliance.
The NBR currently accounts for around 86% of the government’s total revenue, according to the presentation. It said Bangladesh’s tax-to-GDP ratio remains among the lowest in South Asia and neighbouring countries.
The presentation analysed 25 years of data on GDP, government budget and development expenditure, NBR revenue collection and growth, government borrowing and tax-to-GDP trends in neighbouring countries to establish benchmarks and identify areas requiring reform.

It found that government expenditure increased 4.47 times during the period under review, compared with a 3.40-fold increase in NBR revenue collection, underscoring the need to improve revenue productivity in line with public expenditure.
Talking to BSS, a senior NBR official said the revenue board is strengthening its institutional and operational capacity, which has become a state priority as Bangladesh seeks to boost domestic revenue mobilisation while supporting economic growth.
The NBR identified investment in revenue administration, skills development, system interoperability, risk management and taxpayer services as key drivers of revenue growth. Immediate priorities include strengthening taxpayer services, governance, policy capacity, data management, information technology and human resources.
Under its action plan, the NBR plans to review the legal framework and transition arrangements, establish a comprehensive enterprise architecture, create a unique taxpayer master database, and develop a common data dictionary and system inventory.
It also proposed establishing a Revenue Policy Secretariat, developing a tax-expenditure register and introducing mandatory policy-costing templates.
In the first three years, the NBR plans to introduce a unified taxpayer account, integrated customer relationship and case-management systems, third-party data matching, a cross-tax compliance risk engine, and a common payment and arrears view.
For customs, it proposes retaining specialised border functions while integrating importer and exporter identities with valuation, VAT and income-tax risk data.
Over three to five years, the NBR aims to develop near-real-time compliance analytics, expand pre-filled tax returns where legally feasible, automate low-risk refunds, and introduce advanced entity-network and fraud analytics.
The revenue policy also seeks to support industrial development and export competitiveness through reduced duties on raw materials and capital machinery, VAT exemptions for agriculture, essential commodities and ICT, sector-based reduced income-tax rates and exemptions, customs automation and single-window services.
The NBR listed agriculture, garments, refrigerators and air-conditioners, information technology, automobiles and electric vehicles, mobile phones, SMEs and the capital market, healthcare and education, pharmaceuticals, and renewable energy among sectors receiving various fiscal and customs policy support.

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