Revenue collection data to be published regularly from December: Titumir

The government will begin publishing National Board of Revenue (NBR) revenue collection data on a regular basis from December, Prime Minister’s Adviser on Finance and Planning Prof Rashed Al Mahmud Titumir said today (10 November).

“Although there are some limitations in data coordination at present, initiatives have been taken to overcome them,” Titumir told reporters at the NBR conference room in Agargaon.

Explaining the delay in releasing revenue figures, he said the NBR’s statistical system has some constraints. “Although daily collection data is available from iBAS++, it takes time to reconcile different datasets.”

He said the problem would be resolved so that data can be published regularly from December.

Titumir said revenue growth stood at 2.5% in the 2024-25 fiscal year.

“After the current government took office, separate task forces were formed for income tax, customs and value added tax (VAT), pushing growth up to 12.03%,” he described this as a positive outcome of the government’s reform efforts.

The adviser said revenue growth has crossed 12%.

He added that customs houses collected the highest amount of duty in the country’s history towards the end of the last fiscal year, and income tax collection has also made similar progress.

Describing the state of the economy at the time of the government’s takeover, Titumir said it was in a fragile condition. “The domestic revenue-to-GDP ratio was 6.67%, among the lowest in South Asia and the world. The government has set a target of raising it to 10% by 2030.”

He said spending on key social sectors, including education and health, cannot be increased without boosting revenue.

The government wants to raise combined spending on education and health to 5% of GDP, and there is no alternative to increasing domestic resource mobilisation to achieve this, he added.

Responding to reporters’ questions about the recent revenue shortfall and negative growth in VAT collection, Titumir said the government inherited a devastated economy. “Because of the plunder of funds from the banking sector, around $40 billion will be needed to revive it.”

He said measures have been taken to revive the economy by boosting investment, public spending, consumption and export earnings.

Titumir said directives have been issued to those concerned for implementing the Annual Development Programme (ADP).

Bangladesh Bank has announced a package to increase credit flow to the private sector, one-fifth of which has already been disbursed, he added.

The adviser also said a census and verification are underway for the Family Card programme to support people who have fallen below the poverty line.

Asked about the proposed fresh excise duty at the fuel sale level, Titumir said discussions are ongoing with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on a new programme. “The matter is currently at the technical level, and a decision will be taken at the policy level after the talks conclude.”

On the progress of VAT audits, he said a risk-based audit system has been introduced. “Audits have begun after identifying firms based on various risk indicators.”

He added that steps are being taken to quickly dispose of nearly 29,000 pending revenue-related cases, in which a huge amount of revenue remains stuck.

On NBR’s administrative reform, Titumir said that, following discussions with stakeholders, the creation of two separate divisions for revenue collection and revenue policy has been recommended.

A committee formed on the issue has submitted its report, and he expressed hope that the recommendations would be implemented soon.

He said the government’s goal is to build an equitable tax system without raising tax rates. “It wants to increase revenue through institutional reforms, moving away from a culture of tax evasion, tax fraud and unjustified exemptions.”

Highlighting the situation in the banking sector, Titumir said the non-performing loan (NPL) ratio was earlier shown as 11%, but a forensic audit found it to be 35.72%.

He said widespread irregularities and plunder in the banking sector have affected different sectors of the economy, and about $40 billion will be required to revive it.