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Bangladesh’s VAT net expanded sharply in December as the National Board of Revenue brought about 131,000 previously unregistered businesses under the Value Added Tax system through a nationwide registration drive.

The revenue authority had set a target of registering 100,000 new VAT entities between December 10 and December 31, marking VAT Day and VAT Week under the theme “Register on Time, Pay VAT Correctly.” Continuous field campaigns and daily surveys—carried out even on holidays—helped the country’s 12 VAT commissionerates exceed that goal.

With the new additions, the total number of VAT-registered entities has climbed to around 775,000, up from 516,000 before the interim government took office.

VAT remains the single largest source of government revenue, accounting for about 38 per cent of total collections in the previous fiscal year, alongside customs duty and income tax. The NBR sees significant scope to raise revenue further by expanding the VAT base.

To that end, the government has amended the VAT law, making registration mandatory for businesses with annual turnover above Tk 50 lakh—down from the earlier threshold of Tk 3 crore.

The NBR has also moved to ease compliance by introducing online VAT registration, electronic return filing through the eVAT system, online payment to the treasury, automated refunds of excess VAT to bank accounts, and simplified return formats for small businesses.

The revenue authority urged continued cooperation from consumers, traders, industrialists and the media to help build an efficient, fully digital VAT system in support of a self-reliant economy.