VAT registration in Bangladesh becomes compulsory once your turnover passes BDT 5 million, which is BDT 50 lakh. The application runs entirely online through the NBR e-VAT system, carries no government fee, and issues your 13-digit Business Identification Number to your registered email straight away.
Turnover is not the only trigger. Importers, exporters, suppliers against tender, and the branch or liaison office of any foreign company must register no matter what they turn over.
Below the threshold there’s a second tier. Turnover between BDT 3 million and BDT 5 million (30 to 50 lakh) means an Enlistment Certificate and 4% turnover tax instead.
Who has to register for VAT in Bangladesh
| Annual turnover | What applies | What you obtain |
|---|---|---|
| Below BDT 3 million (30 lakh) | Outside both schemes | Nothing required, voluntary registration permitted |
| BDT 3 million to BDT 5 million (30 to 50 lakh) | Turnover tax at 4% | Enlistment Certificate |
| Above BDT 5 million (50 lakh) | Full VAT at 15% standard rate | 13-digit BIN |
Registration is compulsory regardless of turnover where you are:
- Supplying goods or services that are specified for mandatory registration
- Engaged in the import or export of goods
- Supplying against a tender
- Operating as the branch or liaison office of a foreign company
That last one catches a lot of foreign entrants by surprise. A liaison office earns nothing in Bangladesh, and the instinct is to assume VAT has nothing to do with it. The obligation attaches to the entity type, not to the revenue. If you’re weighing that structure, read what else it involves in branch office setup.
You can also register voluntarily below the threshold. Plenty of companies do, because their customers want a VAT invoice and because the BIN is needed elsewhere.
What your BIN is actually used for
The BIN does more than let you charge VAT. Bangladesh has wired it into a list of unrelated processes, and the absence of one stops each of them.
You need to furnish your BIN to:
- Open any account with a bank or non-banking financial institution
- Renew a trade licence
- Open a mobile financial service merchant account
- Take membership of a trade association
- Obtain utility connections
- Register a vehicle with the BRTA (Bangladesh Road Transport Authority)
Importers need it in a stricter form. An importer must hold the 13-digit VAT registration certificate itself, not simply quote a number.
Documents you’ll need for the application
The portal asks you to upload scanned copies. Have these ready before you start, because a half-finished application means re-entering everything:
- Certificate of Incorporation and the company’s MOA and AOA
- Trade Licence
- e-TIN certificate
- National ID or passport of the authorised signatory
- Bank account details, including the name and branch of the account
- Rental or lease agreement, or ownership proof, for each business premises
- List of business premises, and of goods and services supplied
- Import Registration Certificate or Export Registration Certificate where you trade across the border
A branch or liaison office adds its BIDA permission letter to that list.
Your Certificate of Incorporation and Trade Licence have to exist before any of this, in the sequence set out in how to register a company in Bangladesh.
How the e-VAT registration works
The process is fully automated, which is a genuine change from how this used to run.
- Create a taxpayer account on the NBR VAT portal at vat.gov.bd, using a mobile number and email address. Both are verified by OTP, so use addresses the company will keep.
- Complete the registration and enlistment form, declaring your business type, premises, turnover and the goods or services you supply.
- Upload the supporting documents listed above.
- Submit. There’s no fee at any stage.
- Receive your BIN by email, issued immediately on submission of the required information.
Use a company email address rather than an individual’s. The BIN certificate lands there, and so does everything the NBR sends afterwards. Personal addresses become a problem the moment that person leaves.
Non-resident suppliers of electronic services
A foreign company supplying electronic services to customers in Bangladesh who are not VAT-registered has to register for VAT here and account for it.
The route is a VAT agent. You appoint one, and the agent handles the registration and the discharge of VAT on your behalf.
What you don’t need is equally worth knowing. A non-resident electronic service provider is not required to establish a presence in Bangladesh, and is not required to open a Bangladeshi bank account. The VAT obligation exists without the infrastructure.
What starts the day your BIN is issued
Registration is the beginning of a monthly cycle:
- Issue Mushak 6.3, the VAT invoice, for every taxable supply
- File Mushak 9.1, the VAT return, by the 15th of the following month
- Pay the net VAT liability with that return
- Maintain the statutory VAT registers
Above BDT 50 million (5 crore) of sales turnover in the previous financial year, the software you keep those records in must itself be NBR-approved. Companies that cross that line partway through a year discover it late, and migrating an accounting system mid-year is not a small job.
VAT runs alongside a separate monthly deduction cycle on your supplier payments, with its own rate schedule in TDS rates in Bangladesh.
The standard rate is 15%. Reduced rates of 1.5%, 2%, 2.4%, 4.5%, 5%, 7.5% and 10% apply to specified goods and services, and some products carry a fixed amount of VAT rather than a percentage. Establish which rate applies to your supply before you issue your first invoice, since correcting the rate afterwards means correcting every invoice behind it.
4 mistakes that create real exposure
1. Reading the threshold as BDT 3 crore
The VAT registration threshold is BDT 5 million, which is 50 lakh. A company at BDT 1 crore of turnover is well past it. Businesses that believe they’re still in the turnover tax band at that level are trading unregistered, and the liability accrues quietly until an audit surfaces it.
2. Assuming a liaison office is outside VAT
No revenue does not mean no registration. The branch and liaison office obligation is absolute, and it applies from setup rather than from the first taka earned.
3. Treating exemption by notification as exemption from registration
These 2 situations look identical and behave differently. Goods and services under the First Schedule of the VAT Act need no registration at all. Goods and services exempted by notification still require full VAT registration and full compliance. Check which category your supply sits in.
4. Claiming automatic zero-rating on exported services
Exporting a service is not enough on its own. Zero-rating requires that the service is consumed outside Bangladesh, that payment arrives in foreign currency, and that you hold documentary proof of both. Fail any of the 3 and the supply carries 15%.
Where VAT sits alongside your other obligations
VAT is one of 4 tax cycles a Bangladeshi company runs at once. Deduction at source is monthly with a quarterly return, corporate tax has its own advance instalments, and RJSC sits on an annual rhythm.
The rate your profits are taxed at is set out in corporate tax rates.
The obligations and penalties across all 4 cycles sit in private limited company compliance, and the dated schedule for the year is in the compliance calendar for the year.
Register once, correctly
We handle VAT registration as part of company setup and as a standalone engagement for businesses that have crossed the threshold and need to regularise. That includes working out which rate applies to your supply, which is where most of the judgement sits.
For registration, monthly returns or a review of your current VAT position, see indirect tax services or talk to our team.
Thresholds and rates reflect the VAT and Supplementary Duty Act 2012 as currently applied. VAT rules change with each Finance Act. Confirm your position with a qualified adviser before registering.
Frequently asked questions
What is the VAT registration threshold in Bangladesh?
VAT registration becomes compulsory once annual turnover exceeds BDT 5 million, which is BDT 50 lakh. Turnover between BDT 3 million and BDT 5 million falls under the turnover tax scheme at 4%, requiring an Enlistment Certificate rather than full VAT registration.
How much does VAT registration cost in Bangladesh?
Nothing. No government fee is payable for obtaining VAT registration. The application runs through the NBR e-VAT system online, and the 13-digit Business Identification Number is issued to your registered email address immediately on submission of the required information.
Does a liaison office in Bangladesh need VAT registration?
Yes. The branch or liaison office of a foreign company must obtain VAT registration regardless of turnover, and regardless of whether it earns revenue in Bangladesh. The obligation attaches to the entity type rather than to income, so it applies from setup onwards.
Can a foreign company register for VAT in Bangladesh without a local office?
Yes, where it supplies electronic services to VAT-unregistered customers in Bangladesh. Registration is obtained by appointing a VAT agent. The non-resident provider need not establish a presence in Bangladesh and need not open a Bangladeshi bank account.
What is a BIN and where do I need it?
The BIN is your 13-digit VAT registration number. Beyond charging VAT, you must furnish it to open a bank or NBFI account, renew a trade licence, open a mobile financial service merchant account, join a trade association, obtain utility connections, and register a vehicle with the BRTA.
