Revenue earnings shortfall widens in October

Money in Bangladeshi Taka

The National Board of Revenue (NBR) recorded a sharp fall in customs duty collection in October, posting a 27.17 percent negative growth, according to official data released on Thursday.

The NBR had set a collection target of Tk 4,367.17 crore in customs duty for the month but managed Tk 2,444 crore.

In the same month of the last fiscal year, customs duty collection stood at Tk 3,355.89 crore.

VAT collection at the import stage also dropped, registering an 11.56 percent negative growth.

Against a target of Tk 5,139.15 crore, the collection amounted to Tk 3,825 crore, compared with Tk 4,324.80 crore in October of the 2024–25 fiscal year.

Supplementary duty from imports, however, posted a slight gain of 2.82 percent. The target was Tk 1,398.92 crore, but the NBR collected Tk 954 crore, slightly up from Tk 927.80 crore a year earlier.

Overall, the Customs Wing saw a 16.09 percent shortfall, collecting Tk 7,223 crore against the monthly target of Tk 10,911.78 crore. In October last fiscal year, the collection was Tk 8,608.49 crore.

Meanwhile, domestic VAT collection for October in the 2025–26 fiscal year grew 10.76 percent.

Against a target of Tk 13,861.52 crore, the NBR collected Tk 11,883 crore, up from Tk 10,728.78 crore a year earlier.

Income tax collection stood at Tk 9,367 crore in October, compared with Tk 8,517.12 crore in the same month of the previous fiscal year. The monthly target for this wing was Tk 12,019.75 crore.

In total, NBR collected Tk 28,473 crore in October, higher than Tk 27,854.39 crore in the same month last fiscal year, but well below the Tk 36,739.06 crore target set for the current month.

NBR figures also show that revenue collection in the first four months (July–October) of the current fiscal year fell short of target by more than Tk 17,000 crore.

Against a target of Tk 1,36,697 crore, the NBR realised Tk 1,19,478 crore—leaving a Tk 17,219 crore gap.

For the full 2024–25 fiscal year, the NBR has been tasked with collecting Tk 4,99,000 crore.

Despite the shortfall, revenue collection grew 15.5 percent year-on-year in the July–October period, rising from Tk 1,03,407 crore in the same four months of the previous fiscal year.

Among the three major wings, income tax recorded the largest gap. Against a target of Tk 47,043 crore, the wing collected Tk 37,849 crore—falling short by Tk 9,194 crore.

The Customs Wing also underperformed, collecting Tk 34,751 crore against a target of Tk 41,507 crore—a deficit of Tk 6,756 crore.

VAT collection reached Tk 46,878 crore against the target of Tk 48,147 crore, missing the mark by Tk 1,269 crore.

NBR officials attributed the shortfall to sluggish business activities and a fall in import volumes.

However, they voiced optimism about stronger performance in the latter half of the fiscal year, saying measures are underway to widen the tax net, curb evasion, boost compliance, and recover outstanding taxes. - UNB