NBR expects Tk 415,000cr revenue this fiscal year

The National Board of Revenue (NBR) expects to collect Tk 415,000 crore in revenue in the current financial year, falling Tk 88,000 crore short of its target.

The tax authority collected Tk 360,642 crore during the July-May period of the current fiscal year, registering 10 percent year-on-year growth. Revenue collection in the 11-month period was Tk 81,442 crore short of the NBR’s revised target for the period, according to preliminary NBR data. NBR field offices logged Tk 29,311 crore in revenue in the first 20 days of June. With this, total tax receipts stood at Tk 389,953 crore in the current fiscal year.

In the remaining 10 days of the fiscal year, a further Tk 25,000 crore is expected to be collected, taking the total to above Tk 400,000 crore, the highest ever in the history of the NBR, the state’s largest tax collector.

The revenue authority expects to collect Tk 43,157 crore more in revenue this year than the actual collection of Tk 368,395 crore in the previous fiscal year.

The tax administration said it has formed three task forces comprising field-level officials from the income tax, VAT and customs wings to accelerate revenue collection.

The task forces have already taken various initiatives to increase tax collection, including the speedy disposal of cases relating to revenue disputes in courts, it added.

The NBR has also taken steps to detect tax evasion and collect evaded taxes, quickly dispose of tax files selected automatically for audit, and monitor the collection of income tax and VAT at source.

The revenue authority has also strengthened post-clearance audit and risk management activities at customs houses, while simultaneously completing income tax and VAT audits of high-risk taxpayers.

Towfiqul Islam Khan, additional director, Research, at the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD), said the shortfall from the revised revenue collection target of Tk 588,000 crore, including the NBR’s target, is likely to be Tk 100,000 crore this year.

For fiscal year 2026-27, the government aims to collect Tk 695,000 crore, including the NBR’s target of Tk 604,000 crore. The amount is 18.2 percent higher than the current fiscal year’s revised revenue target for the NBR.

If the NBR’s projection of Tk 415,000 crore is taken into account, the tax authority will have to collect 45 percent more revenue next fiscal year.

Khan said that, given the current trend in revenue collection, there is a risk of a Tk 100,000 crore shortfall next year as well.

“There has to be extraordinary performance in revenue collection to achieve the target. For this, the NBR has to curb tax evasion and improve institutional capacity,” he said. “There is no alternative to reforms to do this. Revenue mobilisation will be a defining factor in the implementation of the budget for the next fiscal year.”

Until May, income tax collection recorded the highest year-on-year growth, followed by VAT and supplementary duty (SD) from domestic economic activities and import tariffs collected by customs.

The NBR logged Tk 121,072 crore from direct, or income, tax in July-May of fiscal year 2025-26, up 12.5 percent year on year.

Collection of VAT and SD from domestic sources, the largest source of revenue, grew 10 percent year on year to Tk 140,168 crore.

Collection of import and other tariffs from international trade grew 7 percent year on year to Tk 99,402 crore.