বাংলা | Epaper

বাংলা E-Paper 📍 Dhaka 📅 Sunday | 15 November 2026, 30 Kartik 1433 PID registration number 06

HEADLINE

● Industrial activities largely normal in N'ganj ● If ousted Hasina returns, her sentence will be executed: Rizvi ● First nuclear power plant set for grid connection ● Iran claims drone strike at Bahrain military base ● New gas reserve found in Bhola ● Depression may intensify into Cyclone Akvan ● Garment workers return to work in Gazipur amid tight security

Govt moves to cut VAT on date imports ahead of Ramadan

Published : Sunday, 15 November, 2026 at 12:57 PM

Observer Online Report

Collected Photo

The government has initiated a move to reduce Value Added Tax (VAT) at the import stage on dates in a bid to control price hikes during the upcoming holy month of Ramadan, alongside proposing changes to VAT return filing rules to modernize tax administration and boost revenue collection.

Both proposals were placed before the Cabinet meeting on Sunday (November 15). Currently, date imports are subject to a 15 percent VAT, which the National Board of Revenue (NBR) has proposed reducing ahead of the seasonal surge in demand. According to official data, Bangladesh’s annual demand for dates stands at approximately 1 lakh to 1.10 lakh tonnes, of which 60,000 to 70,000 tonnes are consumed during Ramadan alone. Traders noted that similar reductions in import duties and taxes ahead of Ramadan last year helped lower import costs and stabilize market prices.

Simultaneously, the government has moved to amend Section 64 of the Value Added Tax and Supplementary Duty Act, 2012, to streamline revenue management. Under the proposed amendment, taxpayers will be required to submit monthly VAT returns by the 15th of the following month, replacing the current system of filing returns within 15 days after every three-month tax period. If the 15th falls on a public holiday, returns may be submitted on the next working day, while government, semi-government, and autonomous bodies, banks, insurance companies, and zero-return filers will be allowed to submit their returns within 20 days after the end of the tax period.

-EM

Also read

Industrial activities largely normal in N'ganj

If ousted Hasina returns, her sentence will be executed: Rizvi

First nuclear power plant set for grid connection

Heart blockages detected in Health Minister, stent placement scheduled

PM holds cabinet meeting with senior officials

4 banned AL activists arrested in Azimpur

'Zakir group' members held with native weapons in Mohammadpur

Depression may intensify into Cyclone Akvan

Editor : Iqbal Sobhan Chowdhury

Published by the Editor on behalf of the Observer Ltd. from Globe Printers, 24/A, New Eskaton Road, Ramna, Dhaka.
Editorial, News and Commercial Offices : Aziz Bhaban (2nd floor), 93, Motijheel C/A, Dhaka-1000.
Phone: PABX- 41053001-06; Advertisement: 41053012; 01793317829, 01550707291, 01550707296
E-mail: [email protected], [email protected]. [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], ‍[email protected], Online-email: [email protected]

🔝