Taxation: In Bangladesh, the principal direct taxes are personal income taxes and corporate income taxes, and

a value-added tax (VAT) of 15% levied on all important consumer goods. The top income tax rate for individuals is 25%. For the 2011/12 tax year (July 1, 2011June 30, 20112) the top corporate rate was 45%. However, publicly traded companies registered in Bangladesh are charged a lower rate of 27.5%. Banks, financial institutions and insurance companies are charged the 45% rate. All other companies are taxed at the 37.5% rate. Effective 1 July 2011 Custom Duties: Customs wing is primarily responsible for collection of all duties and taxes at the import stage. Apart from collection of government revenue it is also responsible for trade facilitation, enforcement of government regulations, protection of society and environmental protection, preparation of foreign trade statistics, trade compliance and protection of cultural heritage. Customs collects 42% of the NBRs total revenue. The revenue target for the year 2007-08 was Tk. 17,812 Cr. and actual revenue collection so far (July 07 to May08) is Tk. 16, 987.06 Cr. that is 19.04% higher than the previous year. The target has been revised to Tk. 19385 Cr. for 2007-08 and with an increase of 16.25%; it has been set to Tk. 22,536 Cr. for the year 2008-09. In the present financial year (2007-08) there are 3 duty slabs of customs duties i.e. 10% for basic raw material, 15% for intermediate raw material or semi finished products, and 25% for finished products. In the proposed 2008-09 budget, the duty structure has been restructured and a four tier duty structure has been proposed, i.e. 3% for capital machinery, 7% for basic raw material, 12% for intermediate rawmaterial or semi finished products, and 25% for finished products. Since Customs functions at the gateway for import and export of goods, it plays a critical role in the import-export trade chain. In order to make customs procedures more transparent and to achieve more trade facilitation, a number of measures have been taken in past few years. With the introduction of ASYCUDA++ and Direct Traders Input (DTI) automation in customs clearance has begun. Recently, a full

automation scheme is on way of implementation in collaboration with the Chittagong Chamber and the Task Force. Once the full automation is completed the importers and exporters will be able to access customs server from their offices or homes and will be able to submit their customs declaration online.

Exemptions from Customs Duty: i) Capital machinery; ii) Raw materials of Medicine; iii) Poultry Medicine, Feed & machinery; iv) Defence stores; v) Chemicals of leather and leather goods; vi) Private power generation unit; vii) Textile raw materials and machinery; viii) Solar power equipment; ix) Relief goods; x) Goods for blind and physically retarded people; and xi) Import by Embassy and UN. Free import 200 cigarettes or 50 cigars or 225g of tobacco; Two bottles of alcoholic beverages or 1 bottle if not travelling for touristic purposes - only applicable to non Muslim

travellers 250ml of perfume; Gifts up to the value of BDT500 Residents can import up to BDT 150 in local currency and an unlimited amount of foreign money. Non residents can import a similar amount of local currency and up to 1000 USD although sums greater than USD 150 will need to be declared at the customs department. All travellers can export up to BDT 100 in local currency whilst residents can take out the equivalent of USD 25 in foreign currency. Non residents can export up to USD 150 in foreign currency. All visitors flying out of Bangladesh will need to pay an additional BDT 300 Embarkation Tax prior to leaving the country. Prohibited Illegal drugs Arms, explosives and ammunition Knives and deadly weapons All imported goods in their original or unprocessed form; Ferrous and non-ferrous metals and scraps thereof; Petroleum and petroleum products except naphtha and furnace oil; Oil seeds and edible oils except Kapok seeds; Jute seeds and sun-hemp seeds; Food-grains including rice products and flour products; Milk and milk products; Gur and Khandesi sugar; Live animals all sorts, skins of animals and wildlife covered by the Bangladesh Wildlife except the species detailed in the first schedule of the said order; Maps and charts including the following: Unclassified maps of scale smaller than inch or 1/250,000 scale; Education and scientific charts; And Guide maps and relief maps. Beef, mutton and animal fats; Green coconuts, coconuts and copra; Rare items of archaeological interest; Human skeletons;

 Pulses; Eggs and poultry; Prawns and shrimps except frozen and processed; Features films not certified by the Bangladesh Film Censorship Board as fit for Export; Onion; Rice bran except de-oiled rice bran. Shrimp of count 71/90 and sizes below for seawater and 61/70 and sizes below for fresh water excluding two varieties; Oil cake; Bamboo and cane in whole form and wood log; Frogs of all species (live or dead) and frogs leg Counterfeit money and goods Pornographic material Restricted All weapons can only be imported with permission from the ministry of defence. Import of Pharmaceutical raw materials and packing materials is subject to approval by the Director of Drugs Administration, Government of Bangladesh. For import of food items, animal, poultry feed special documents are required. All pets being imported into the country will require an import permit and a general health certificate clearing the creatures of Rabies and other infectious diseases. Textiles: law for textile imports requires a certificate of cleanliness. Conclusion: Negotiating tax treaties with foreign governments and participating in interministerial deliberations on economic issues having a bearing on fiscal policies and tax administration are also NBR's responsibilities. The main responsibility of NBR is to mobilize domestic resources through collection of import duties and taxes, VAT and income tax for the government. Side by side with collection of taxes, facilitation of international trade through quick clearance of import and export cargoes has also emerged as a key role of NBR. Other responsibilities include

administration of matters related to taxes, duties and other revenue related fees/charges and prevention of smuggling. Under the overall control of IRD, NBR administers the excise, VAT, customs and income-tax services consisting of 3434 officers of various grades and 10195 supporting staff positions.