Who qualifies for TCB cards: Govt issues new eligibility rules

The document specifies updated eligibility rules, digital registration processes, product quotas, oversight mechanisms, and distribution safeguards for the Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB).

Under the updated guidelines, eligible beneficiaries include ultra-poor families, low-income individuals, landless persons, agricultural laborers, day laborers, tea garden workers, rice mill workers, factory workers, and individuals unable to earn a living.

Priority will be granted to distress-affected female-headed households, including widows, divorcees, and abandoned women, alongside vulnerable families supporting children or persons with disabilities.

Only one member per family is permitted to hold a TCB card. Applicants must possess a valid National Identity (NID) card—and submit their spouse's NID where applicable—along with an active mobile phone number registered under their own NID. Beneficiaries must be permanent residents of the respective City Corporation, Municipality, or Union Parishad.

Beneficiary information will be compiled and uploaded to the TCB Service App database to digitize beneficiary management.

Trade Minister Khandaker Abdul Muktadir previously noted at a recent event that 5.9 million cards were cancelled due to irregularities. The cancelled allocations are being converted into digital cards to be redistributed to genuinely eligible citizens out of the existing 7.5 million baseline cardholders.

Each cardholding family is designated to receive:

Edible Oil: 2 liters (at Tk 100 per liter)

Lentils: 2 kg (at Tk 60 per kg)

Sugar: 1 kg (at Tk 70 per kg)

Rice: 5 kg (subject to allocation from the Ministry of Food)

The government reserves the authority to revise product items, quantities, and prices as needed. During Holy Ramadan and Eid-ul-Adha, mobile truck sales may be deployed to distribute subsidized commodities to the general public beyond the standard card quota.

For the 2026–27 fiscal year, TCB plans to distribute 200,000 tonnes of edible oil, 220,000 tonnes of lentils, and 110,000 tonnes of sugar. The subsidy cost, which stood at Tk 2,700 crore in FY 2025–26, is projected to drop to Tk 2,400 crore in the current fiscal year.

Dedicated monitoring committees will operate across City Corporation, District, Upazila, Municipality, and Union levels to oversee beneficiary selection, database creation, card distribution, and sales operations.

At the district level, the District Commissioner (DC) will serve as President, with local Members of Parliament acting as advisers.

The committee includes the Superintendent of Police, Upazila Nirbahi Officers (UNOs), Municipal Mayors or Administrators, District Controllers of Food, Social Services Officers, Relief and Rehabilitation Officers, Women Affairs Officers, and TCB representatives.

Upazila-level committees will feature Members of Parliament, Upazila Parishad Chairmen, and UNOs. Union-level "Tag Teams" will conduct field inspections at dealer outlets to verify sales to cardholders.

Dealers are required to display consumer price lists, distribution dates, operational hours, and item quotas prominently outside their premises. Outlets must install CCTV cameras to ensure transparency and security during transactions.

Warehouse management rules mandate that inventory be stored in owned or rented TCB warehouses subject to government inspection.

TCB Deputy Director Shahadat Hossain stated that the new guidelines are designed to strengthen accountability across all stages of distribution.