The Chittagong Port Authority (CPA) will have to pay Tk224.70 crore in annual property tax to the Chattogram City Corporation (CCC), following a final appellate ruling that settled a long-running dispute between the two organisations.
Manowara Begum, director of the Local Government Division at the Divisional Commissioner’s Office, delivered the final verdict yesterday (2 November), fixing the annual tax at Tk224,70,53,937, effective from the 2025-26 fiscal year.
Earlier, based on a joint survey, the city corporation had assessed the port’s annual property tax at Tk264.35 crore. The appellate authority subsequently reduced the amount by around 15% to Tk224.70 crore.
CCC Administrator Shahadat Hossain described the revenue collection from the port as a major achievement for the city corporation.
Speaking to The Business Standard today (3 November), he said, “Receiving such a large amount of revenue from a single institution is a significant event in Chattogram’s history. Since taking charge, I have been working to ensure that the port pays its fair share of property tax.”
He said the city corporation had reassessed the tax at Tk264 crore after taking all the port’s installations into account. Following the port authority’s appeal, the Divisional Commissioner’s Office reduced the amount by 15%.
Shahadat said the city corporation had liabilities of Tk513 crore when he took charge two years ago. After repaying various loans and meeting other expenses, it now has a surplus of more than Tk100 crore in its treasury.
The city corporation plans to spend the revenue collected from the port on education, healthcare, road construction and repairs, street lighting and waste management. It will also purchase modern machinery and equipment to improve urban services, he said.
The CCC administrator said the corporation operates around 100 educational institutions, where many teachers still receive monthly salaries of Tk10,000-12,000. Their salaries need to be increased, while shortages of teachers and staff also need to be addressed.
He added that the corporation had regularised around 1,500-2,000 employees, increasing its salary and allowance expenditure.
As these expenses have to be met from the corporation’s own revenue, generating income from its own sources is crucial, he said, adding that the ministry does not always provide the full amount of funding required.
Contacted by TBS, CPA Secretary (Additional Charge) Syed Refayet Hamim said a hearing on the property tax dispute had been held at the Divisional Commissioner’s Office, but the port authority had not yet received the full copy of the verdict.
“We will review the verdict and comment on the matter after receiving a copy. It is not possible for us to comment before that,” he said.
Asked whether the port authority had any objections to the assessment or intended to challenge the ruling, he said its position would be clear after reviewing the verdict.
How the tax was assessed
According to CCC data, a joint survey identified a total of 17,346,491 square feet of installations under the port authority.
Of the total, 1,724,106 square feet were residential facilities, 1,635,379 square feet non-residential facilities, and 13,987,006 square feet yards and storage facilities.
The city corporation calculated the property tax by considering these installations, along with the port’s revenue from container handling, port dues, berthing and unberthing, pilotage, tugboats and late fees, as well as its overall capacity.
On 10 July 2025, the CCC sent the port authority a bill demanding Tk177.60 crore in property tax, including outstanding dues. Of this, Tk160.16 crore was the assessed tax for that fiscal year.
The port authority objected to the bill, prompting the two organisations to initiate a fresh assessment through a joint survey.
At a meeting of the relevant committee on 24 February, following the survey, the port authority proposed paying Tk50 crore in annual property tax. The city corporation rejected the proposal.
The matter was subsequently referred to the Ministry of Shipping, which said on 20 April that the assessment and payment of property tax fell within the jurisdiction of the relevant authorities under existing laws and regulations.
On 29 June, the port authority paid Tk198.26 crore towards its property tax for FY2025-26, equivalent to 75% of the tax proposed by the city corporation.
However, disputing the assessment, the port authority appealed to the Divisional Commissioner’s Office. The appeal was finally disposed of on Monday.
A long-running dispute
According to CCC records, the port’s annual property tax was initially fixed at Tk160.16 crore in 2017. However, the then city mayor reduced it to Tk50 crore.
The port authority eventually paid around Tk40.50 crore after receiving a 10% surcharge waiver.
After taking office, current CCC Administrator Shahadat Hossain took initiatives to collect the assessed property tax from the port.
On 15 December 2024, he wrote to the port chairman, requesting payment of Tk115.16 crore in outstanding property tax for FY2024-25. The city corporation had previously fixed the port’s annual property tax at Tk160.16 crore from that fiscal year.
The CCC also wrote to the shipping secretary on 22 January 2025. In response, the Ministry of Shipping instructed the port authority on 6 April that year to pay Tk100 crore provisionally.
The dispute dates back several decades. In FY1994-95, the city corporation demanded Tk39.80 crore in property tax from the port, but the authority paid only Tk5 crore.
In FY2001-02, the CCC demanded Tk197.73 crore in outstanding property tax. Following a dispute between the two organisations, the port authority paid Tk112.30 crore through a mutual settlement in 2012.
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