Business & Financial Legislation

Promulgated 6 November 2025 to further amend the Income Tax Act, 2023 (including replacing references to the National Board of Revenue with the Revenue Management Division in section 4). The bdlaws page states the Ordinance has ceased to have effect under Article 93(2) of the Constitution. Check the Finance Acts of 2026 and NBR's Income Tax Acts page for the position now in force.

Enacted 10 April 2026. Further amends the Value Added Tax and Supplementary Duty Act, 2012 (Act XLVII of 2012): section 2, the Second Schedule and the Third Schedule.

Enacted 10 April 2026. Gives effect to the financial proposals for fiscal year 2025-26 and amends other laws, including the Income Tax Act, 2023 (for example section 78 and tax on securities transactions) and the VAT and Supplementary Duty Act, 2012 (for example section 31).

Enacted 30 June 2026. Gives effect to the government's financial proposals and amends several laws, including the Value Added Tax and Supplementary Duty Act, 2012, the Customs Act, 2023, the Income Tax Act, 2023, the Companies Act, 1994 and the Gift Tax Act, 1990.

Enacted 10 April 2026. Further amends the Bangladesh Labour Act, 2006 (Act XLII of 2006), the principal law on employment, wages, workplace relations and industrial disputes. The 2006 Act itself is not yet in this database.

Enacted 10 April 2026. Treats a person's personal data as their own and provides for its protection and lawful processing with consent; relevant to companies, banks and finance companies that hold customer or employee data.

Enacted 16 July 2026. Creates a single apex investment development authority (governing board, industrial zones, investor services). Section 66 repeals the Bangladesh Economic Zones Act, 2010, the Bangladesh Public-Private Partnership Act, 2015, the Bangladesh Investment Development Authority Act, 2016 and the One Stop Service Act, 2018, and dissolves the authorities set up under them.

Enacted 10 April 2026. Establishes commercial courts to resolve commercial disputes quickly: constitution and jurisdiction of the courts, appeals and revision, special provisions on mediation, transfer of pending suits, application of the Code of Civil Procedure, summary judgment and practice directions.

Enacted 10 April 2026. Amends section 141 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881 by substituting clause (c): offences under section 138 (cheque dishonour) where the cheque's face value exceeds Tk 5 lakh are tried by a Metropolitan Joint Sessions Judge or Joint Sessions Judge court; other section 138 offences by a Metropolitan Magistrate or first-class Magistrate.

Enacted 4 May 2026. Amends section 7 of the Insurance Development and Regulatory Authority Act, 2010 (Act XII of 2010). Added for completeness of the financial-sector regulators; the 2010 Act itself is not yet in this database.

Enacted 4 May 2026. Amends section 5(6) of the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission Act, 1993 by omitting the proviso. Read together with the 1993 Act listed above.

Enacted 28 June 1969. The original securities statute referred to in the BSEC Act row above: protection of investors, regulation of capital markets and issue of capital, registration and regulation of stock exchanges, restrictions on dealings in securities, inquiries, penalties and a special tribunal. Administered by the Commission (BSEC) under the BSEC Act, 1993.

Promulgated 28 January 2026 to provide for the establishment of microfinance banks. The bdlaws page states the Ordinance has ceased to have effect under Article 93(2) of the Constitution. Kept so that references can be traced; check for any later Act before relying on it.

Enacted 16 July 2006. Establishes the Microcredit Regulatory Authority to regulate microcredit institutions in Bangladesh and make their operations transparent and accountable.

Enacted 10 March 2003. Consolidates and further amends the law on recovery of loans given by financial institutions — special money loan courts for suits and execution by banks and finance companies.

Enacted 11 March 1947 (colonial-era Act, continued in force). Regulates certain payments, dealings in foreign exchange and securities, and the import and export of currency and bullion; the basis of Bangladesh Bank's foreign exchange control.

Enacted 20 February 2012. Re-enacted the earlier money laundering law and ordinance: criminalises money laundering and related offences, and sets reporting, investigation and freezing powers relevant to banks, finance companies and other reporting organisations.

Enacted 10 April 2026. Amends Article 10(5) of the Bangladesh Bank Order, 1972 (P.O. 127 of 1972) by omitting its proviso. Read together with the Order listed above.

Enacted 10 April 2026. Current deposit protection law, repealing and re-enacting the Bank Deposit Insurance Act, 2000: protects deposits taken by bank companies and finance companies; sets up a deposit protection division, trustee board, deposit protection fund and membership of institutions.

Promulgated 13 November 2025 to repeal and re-enact the Bank Deposit Insurance Act, 2000. REPEALED by the Deposit Protection Act, 2026 (Act 75 of 2026).

Former deposit insurance statute (Act of 6 July 2000, replacing the Bank Deposit Insurance Ordinance, 1984). REPEALED — bdlaws shows it as repealed by the Deposit Protection Ordinance, 2025, which the Deposit Protection Act, 2026 then replaced. Kept for legacy references.

Enacted 14 September 2026. Amends the Bank Resolution Act, 2026 (Act 88 of 2026) by omitting section 18A.

Enacted 10 April 2026. Current law on the exercise of resolution powers over scheduled banks — timely resolution of capital shortfall, liquidity crisis, insolvency or other threats to a bank's existence, and financial stability. Replaced the Bank Resolution Ordinance, 2025.

Promulgated 9 May 2025. Gave Bangladesh Bank resolution powers over scheduled banks facing capital shortfall, liquidity crisis or insolvency. REPEALED by the Bank Resolution Act, 2026 (Act 88 of 2026). Kept because resolution actions and circulars taken in 2025 still refer to it.

Enacted 7 December 2021. Repealed and re-enacted the Bankers' Books Evidence Act, 1891 in modernised form — governs the evidentiary use of entries in bankers' books in legal proceedings. The 1891 Act is shown as repealed on bdlaws.

Enacted 13 November 2023. Allows lending against movable property as collateral and protects lender and borrower in such transactions, including registration of financing statements; movable property is defined by the Schedule.

Enacted 4 July 2024; sections in force from 31 December 2024 (SRO 427-Ain/2024). Consolidates, supervises and regulates payment, clearing and settlement systems to reduce payment risk and protect customers; applies to payment system operators, participants and payment service providers.

Enacted 14 March 2024. Regulates offshore banking business: only scheduled banks may carry it on, through offshore banking units (OBUs) licensed by Bangladesh Bank, serving 100% foreign-owned entities in approved specialised zones and other sources approved by the Bank.

Bangladesh Bank's own index of the statutes it administers. Beyond the Bank Company Act 1991 and Negotiable Instruments Act 1881 listed above, it also points to the Bankers' Books Evidence Act 1891, the Bank Deposit Insurance Act 2000 and the Money Loan Court Act (Artha Rin Adalat Ain) 2003 — all of which redirect to the Laws of Bangladesh portal rather than to individual Act pages. Update 1 October 2026: the Bankers' Books Evidence Act 1891 and the Bank Deposit Insurance Act 2000 have since been repealed and replaced — see #20 and #26 below.

Imposes travel tax on persons departing Bangladesh by air, land or sea, sets the rates by destination and mode, and provides for collection through carriers, exemptions and penalties.

Charges tax on gifts of property made by a person during a financial year, defines taxable and exempt gifts, valuation of gifted property, and assessment and recovery of gift tax.

Replaced the Customs Act, 1969. Governs import and export: customs duty under the First Schedule tariff, regulatory duty, valuation and HS classification, clearance procedures, bonded warehousing, offences and appeals. VAT, supplementary duty and advance income tax on imports are collected alongside it.

The previous VAT regime, replaced by the VAT and Supplementary Duty Act, 2012 when that Act took effect in 2019. Still relevant for legacy assessments, disputes and periods before changeover.

The current VAT law, in force since 2019, replacing the VAT Act 1991. Imposition of value added tax, supplementary duty and turnover tax; registration and BIN, input tax credit, zero-rating and exemptions, reduced rates (Second Schedule), supplementary duty (Third Schedule), returns, advance tax and refunds. English version: https://nbr.gov.bd/uploads/acts/18.pdf

The direct tax code, replacing the Income-tax Ordinance, 1984. Charge of income tax, heads of income, tax on retained earnings and reserves of listed companies (s.22) and on stock dividend (s.23), withholding at source, assessment, appeals and recovery. NBR published an authentic English text by gazette in October 2025.

Defines and amends the law on promissory notes, bills of exchange and cheques — negotiation and delivery, holder in due course, endorsement, presentment, dishonour and discharge from liability. The basis of cheque-dishonour proceedings in Bangladesh.

Brings the financial reporting of public interest entities under a regulated framework; establishes the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) to set, monitor and enforce accounting and auditing standards, register and oversee auditors, and discipline the accountancy profession. Section 2(8) defines "public interest entity" and section 40 governs the reporting and auditing standards that banks and finance companies must follow.

Establishes the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission and sets out its constitution, powers and funding — protection of investors in securities, development and regulation of the capital market, and supervision of stock exchanges and market intermediaries. Works alongside the Securities and Exchange Ordinance, 1969.

Constituting instrument of the central bank — establishes Bangladesh Bank as a body corporate, sets out its capital, Board of Directors and the office of Governor, and confers its core functions: sole note issue, monetary policy, foreign exchange management, banker to the government and supervision of banks and finance companies.

Current law for non-bank finance companies: defines financing business (term deposits not repayable on demand, lending, investment and lease financing), licensing, permitted activities (s.21), preparation and audit of financial statements (ss.33, 37) under the Financial Reporting Act 2015 standards, inspection and resolution. Repealed the Financial Institutions Act, 1993.

Former statute for non-bank financial institutions — licensing, control and supervision of NBFIs, deposits, accounts and audit. REPEALED and replaced by the Finance Company Act, 2023. Kept in the database because contracts, licences and older financial statements still reference it.

Amends sections 3, 5, 7 and others of the Bank Company Act, 1991 — introduces the willful-defaulter regime, caps directors from a single family at three, and tightens penalties and central-bank enforcement powers.

Principal banking statute: licensing of banking companies, minimum capital and reserves, ownership and composition of boards, restrictions on lending and large exposures, classification and provisioning of loans, inspection and supervision powers of the central bank, amalgamation, reconstruction and winding up of banks.

Company law: incorporation and registration, memorandum and articles, share capital and debentures, shareholders and general meetings, directors and management, accounts and audit (including appointment and remuneration of auditors, s.210), one-person companies, and winding up — consolidating and amending the law on companies and certain other associations.