Expense rules in Bangladesh.
All NBR rules: 15% VAT, mission allowances and VAT recovery rules in Bangladesh.
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1Expense rules & reclaimable VAT
| Category | VAT | Reclaim | Cap / Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Business meals | 15% | Limited | NBR entertainment |
| Travel meals | 15% | 100% reclaimable | Per diem cap |
| Accommodation | 15% | 100% reclaimable | Tax invoice required |
| Fuel | 15% | 100% reclaimable | Business records |
| Train / flight | 15% | 100% reclaimable | Public transport |
| Taxi / Pathao | 15% | 100% reclaimable | Receipt required |
| Client gifts | 15% | Not deductible | NBR limit |
| Parking | 15% | 100% reclaimable | Tax invoice |
VAT Online
E-VAT system since 2019.
Per diem
MNC standard.
Retention
NBR records: 12 years (Income Tax).
2Mileage allowance
| Mode | Allowance | Cap | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Personal car | BDT 25/km | By company | Standard practice |
| Motorcycle | BDT 12/km | By company | Reduced rate |
MNC practice
Private sector standard.
Records
Date, destination, km.
Covers
Mainly fuel.
3Per diem and travel allowances
| Destination | Meal | Lodging / night | Daily rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dhaka / Chittagong | BDT 3,000 | BDT 12,000 | BDT 15,000 |
| Sylhet / Rajshahi | BDT 2,500 | BDT 10,000 | BDT 12,500 |
| Senior executive | BDT 8,000 | BDT 25,000 | BDT 33,000 |
| Foreign — Bangkok | BDT 12,000 | BDT 40,000 | BDT 52,000 |
| Foreign — Singapore | BDT 18,000 | BDT 60,000 | BDT 78,000 |
MNC practice
Standard executive per diem.
Hotel separate
Lodging refunded on invoice.
No statutory rate
No NBR cap.
4Foreign VAT recovery
| Zone | Mechanism | Deadline | Method |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bangladesh → EU | No reciprocity | — | No agreement |
| France | No reciprocity | — | No agreement |
| United Kingdom | No reciprocity | — | No agreement |
| Switzerland | No reciprocity | — | No agreement |
| USA | No recovery | — | Sales tax not recoverable |
| BD VAT for foreign | None | — | No mechanism |
No B2B refund
No B2B recovery procedure.
EPZ
Export Processing Zones exempt.
Outbound
BD company struggles to recover EU VAT.
Industrialize your Bangladesh expenses with Illizeo.
15% VAT, NBR online, MNC per diem, multi-currency BDT↔USD↔EUR↔CHF: all the NBR rules above are natively integrated into Illizeo.
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