NBR sets out ‘Three-R’ strategy to boost revenue collection

The National Board of Revenue (NBR) has adopted a three-part strategy to increase revenue collection in the 2026-27 financial year. The plan focuses on recovering lost revenue, expanding the tax base and rebuilding the tax system through better services, technology and stronger compliance.

The NBR has named the strategy the “Three-R” plan - Recovery, Restoration and Reconstruction.

Under the Recovery plan, the NBR aims to achieve an average 16 per cent growth in revenue collection. The Restoration plan focuses on bringing more people and businesses into the tax net and creating a business-friendly tax environment.

The Reconstruction plan aims to improve transparency, encourage voluntary tax compliance and speed up revenue collection.

The plans were presented by the NBR at the second meeting of the parliamentary standing committee on the Ministry of Finance last month. The meeting also discussed the NBR’s capacity to meet government spending needs, measures to increase the tax-to-GDP ratio and possible reforms to its organisational structure.

The NBR has set a revenue collection target of Tk 6 lakh 4 thousand crore for the current financial year. Of this, the income tax wing has been given a target of Tk 2 lakh 23 thousand 480 crore, the VAT wing Tk 2 lakh 23 thousand 480 crore and the customs wing Tk 1 lakh 57 thousand 40 crore.

An NBR senior official said the board expects to meet the target through coordinated measures in income tax, VAT and customs administration.

The income tax wing plans to increase collection through regular growth, recovery of evaded taxes, wider withholding tax coverage and faster settlement of tax cases.

Income tax and travel tax brought in Tk 1 lakh 45 thousand 588 crore in 2025-26. The NBR expects an additional Tk 14 thousand 558 crore from 10 per cent regular growth this year. It also plans to recover Tk 3 thousand crore in evaded taxes through its intelligence and tax offices. Another Tk 1 thousand crore is expected from faster settlement of tax cases.

The NBR also expects Tk 500 crore by allowing late filing of tax returns to encourage compliance.

Other measures include introducing progressive tax rates of up to 30 per cent for individual taxpayers, changes to investment tax rebates and the introduction of turnover tax for businesses.

The NBR also plans to collect an additional Tk 7 thousand crore in withholding tax from retailers under a business-to-business model. It expects Tk 4 thousand crore from property developers and another Tk 4 thousand crore from profits made on the sale of land, flats and other capital assets.

The VAT wing collected Tk 1 lakh 56 thousand 69 crore in 2025-26. It expects an additional Tk 15 thousand 607 crore from 10 per cent regular growth this year.

The NBR also expects Tk 15 thousand crore from higher development spending and Tk 12 thousand crore from the tobacco sector. It plans to collect another Tk 2 thousand 500 crore by taking action against illegal cigarettes.

The VAT wing will also focus on audits, recovery of arrears, wider VAT registration and monitoring of high-risk businesses. It aims to settle 50 per cent of pending cases by December 2026 and at least 95 per cent of unresolved cases by the end of the 2026-27 financial year.