Industries
Multinational & Foreign Companies
Market entry, entity structuring, exchange control, expatriate employment, and group-wide compliance in Bangladesh.
In short
Tuhin & Partners acts as Bangladesh counsel to multinational groups: choosing between a subsidiary, branch or liaison office, incorporating and registering the entity, exchange control and remittance approvals, expatriate employment, intra-group agreements and transfer pricing exposure, and the continuing compliance a foreign-controlled entity carries. The firm is often the single Bangladeshi point of contact for a group's regional or global legal team.
Key takeaways
- Subsidiary, branch and liaison office are materially different in what they may do and how they are taxed — the choice should precede the paperwork.
- Branch and liaison offices require BIDA permission and operate only within the scope that permission grants.
- Money moving in and out of the group is governed by the exchange control regime the Bangladesh Bank administers.
- Intra-group charges into or out of Bangladesh fall within the transfer pricing regime.
Multinational groups entering or operating in Bangladesh have to reconcile group policy with local company, tax, exchange control, and employment law.
We act as Bangladesh counsel to foreign companies on entity selection and incorporation, BIDA and sector registrations, intra-group agreements and transfer pricing support, expatriate work permits, profit repatriation, and the compliance calendar that follows — with a single point of contact for group legal teams.
Common questions
Should a multinational set up a subsidiary or a branch office in Bangladesh?
A subsidiary is a separate Bangladeshi company that can trade generally and ring-fences the parent from local liability; a branch is an extension of the parent, limited to the activities its BIDA permission allows. Where the business will earn revenue in Bangladesh and needs operational flexibility, a subsidiary is usually the better fit.
Can a liaison office in Bangladesh earn income?
No. A liaison office exists to represent the parent and coordinate, and it cannot carry on commercial activity or earn local income; it is funded by inward remittance from the parent. Trading through a liaison office puts the permission itself at risk.
What ongoing compliance does a foreign-owned company in Bangladesh have?
Annual RJSC filings and general meetings, income tax and VAT returns, withholding compliance, work permit renewals for expatriate staff, and periodic reporting to the Bangladesh Bank on inward investment and any outward remittance. Group reporting obligations under transfer pricing rules apply where there are intercompany transactions.
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Advising in Multinational & Foreign Companies
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