Bangladesh’s National Board of Revenue (NBR) has launched a new digital platform allowing value-added tax (VAT) refunds to be credited directly to taxpayers’ bank accounts, a move aimed at reducing delays and easing long-standing administrative bottlenecks in the refund process.
The system, known as e-VAT, was inaugurated at the NBR headquarters in Dhaka by NBR Chairman Md Abdur Rahman Khan, who demonstrated the platform by transferring Taka 45.35 lakh to three taxpayers from three different VAT commissionerates. Under the new arrangement, taxpayers can apply for VAT refunds online through their monthly VAT returns, after which verified claims will be paid directly into designated bank accounts.
Khan said the NBR had so far received 115 online refund applications, of which three had been settled through the new system. He also disclosed that the revenue authority is currently carrying outstanding refund liabilities of around Taka 4,000 crore across VAT and other taxes.
Although regulations require VAT refunds to be disbursed within three months, NBR officials acknowledged that, in practice, the process often takes six to 12 months and in some cases up to a year. Annual refund applications typically amount to between Taka 450 crore and Taka 500 crore.
Business groups and tax experts broadly welcomed the initiative as a step towards modernising revenue administration, but warned that digitisation alone would not resolve entrenched delays unless implementation, monitoring and accountability were significantly improved. Several analysts cautioned that without strong institutional oversight, the new platform could replicate existing inefficiencies in digital form.
Exporters expressed similar concerns. Mohammad Hatem, president of the Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA), said the system had the potential to reduce harassment faced by businesses if it functioned effectively. He noted that exporters would be more willing to apply for refunds if the process genuinely moved online, adding that many firms had historically avoided seeking refunds due to extensive paperwork, multiple layers of approval and informal costs.
He also pointed out that although fully export-oriented factories are entitled to VAT refunds on utilities such as gas and electricity, most do not apply because of the cumbersome process. Even when claims are pursued, refunds can take four to five months or longer, he said.
Traders and tax specialists said the success of the e-VAT system would ultimately depend on consistent enforcement of timelines, transparency in verification and the NBR’s willingness to address systemic weaknesses that have long undermined confidence in the refund mechanism.
