Govt Proposes More FBCCI Vice-President Posts, Seeks to Scrap Mandatory Direct Voting

The government has initiated a move to scrap the mandatory provision for direct voting in all leadership positions, including president and vice-president, in the executive committees and boards of directors of the country's trade organisations. At the same time, a proposal has been made to increase the number of board members of the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) from 46 to 48 by adding two new vice-president posts to the apex trade body.

Furthermore, it has been proposed to return the authority to determine membership and annual fees to the respective trade organisations. Initiatives have also been taken to reduce the annual fees of chambers and associations operating under the FBCCI.

The Ministry of Commerce has finalised a draft amendment to the Trade Organisations Rules, 2025 incorporating these changes. The draft was published on the ministry's website last week, inviting feedback and opinions from stakeholders until July 25.

Under the existing rules, all executive committee or board positions, including the president and vice-president, must be elected through direct voting. However, this provision has been relaxed in the revised draft. According to the proposal, the voting rights, election process and selection of leaders of any trade organisation will be determined in accordance with the organisation's Articles of Association and Memorandum of Association.

The process for amending the Articles of Association is also being simplified. According to the draft, an amendment proposal can be adopted at an Annual General Meeting (AGM) or an Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) in the presence of the number of members specified in the Articles of Association, with the consent of at least two-thirds of the members present. If the Articles of Association contain no such provision, the presence of one-third of valid members and the consent of two-thirds of those present will be required.

Another major change in the draft rules concerns voting rights. Even if a member holds multiple memberships, they will not be allowed to cast more than one vote in an election. Currently, a businessman holding multiple memberships can vote once for each membership.

Changes have also been proposed to the rules for joint chambers. Currently, there must be at least two foreign businessmen for every five Bangladeshi businessmen. The revised draft proposes that having at least two businessmen from the respective country will suffice. It also allows each joint chamber to determine eligibility for membership according to its own Articles of Association.

The draft rules propose granting every trade organisation the authority to determine its admission and annual fees in accordance with its own Memorandum and Articles of Association. Under last year's rules, these fees were prescribed by the government. However, businesspeople opposed the move, saying the fee rates were too high.

The FBCCI has not had an elected board of directors for nearly 21 consecutive months. The last board of directors consisted of 80 members. Under last year's rules, that number was reduced to 46. The new draft proposes increasing the board size to 48 members, comprising one president, one senior vice-president, four vice-presidents and 42 directors.

Of the 42 directors, 30 will be elected from the chamber and association groups. In addition, there will be 10 nominated directors�"five each from the chamber and association groups�"and two nominated directors, one each from the women's chamber and women's association groups. For these 12 nominated positions, the elected board will send a list of 22 names to the government, from which the government will select the 12 nominated directors.

The draft proposes reducing the one-time registration fee for FBCCI general body members with a two-year tenure from Tk 20,000 to Tk 10,000. It also proposes reducing the annual fees of trade organisations under the FBCCI. Under the proposal, the annual fee for 'A' category chambers will be reduced from Tk 1 lakh to Tk 60,000, while the annual fee for 'A' category associations will be lowered from Tk 75,000 to Tk 45,000.

The Trade Organisations Act was enacted in 2022 by repealing the Trade Organisations Ordinance of 1961. In light of the law, the Trade Organisations Rules, 2025 were issued last year. However, several trade organisations, including the FBCCI, Dhaka Chamber and Metropolitan Chamber, raised objections to various clauses of the rules. Although initiatives were later taken to amend the rules, the process remained stalled for a long time. During this period, multiple writ petitions were also filed challenging the rules. As the amendment process could not be completed, the FBCCI election did not take place even after the election schedule had been announced.