2026-27 guide
Invest in Bangladesh
What the law requires, what regulators expect, and what is achievable for investors entering or expanding in Bangladesh.
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The whole guide, as one PDF
Fifteen chapters and three statutory schedules in a single document — entry routes, licensing, tax, employment and compliance. Give us a name and an email and we will send it over.
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- 31 pages
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You do not need to download anything to read the guide — every chapter below is free and open.
1. Introduction
Setting the foundation for investment under Bangladesh's modernized economic policies, focusing on long-term macro-fiscal stability and regulatory integration.
2. Market Overview
A structural mapping of the economic landscape, commercial connectivity, and the legislative framework governing corporate operations.
3. Entering the Market
Examining foreign capital protections, the new unified investment promotion structure, and market access routes.
4. Employment & Labour
Navigating the newly reformed labor laws, workplace benefits, and expatriate hiring compliance.
5. Business Setup & Registration
Step-by-step incorporation procedures, corporate filings, and statutory exit strategies.
6. Taxation
An exhaustive analysis of the Finance Act 2026 reforms, corporate rates, direct tax structures, and indirect VAT compliance.
7. Banking & Finance
Examining central bank reforms, opening corporate bank accounts, and secured financing options.
8. Trade & Customs
Documenting import/export licensing, tariff updates, and the new Free Trade Zone rules.
9. Real Estate & Infrastructure
Examining commercial property leases, land laws for foreigners, and the state-asset revival directives.
10. Intellectual Property
Safeguarding trademarks, patents, and copyright assets under modernized IP laws.
11. Compliance & Reporting
Adhering to IFRS reporting, corporate filings, auditing, and cybersecurity standards.
12. Dispute Resolution
Detailing specialized commercial courts, mandatory mediation, and summary judgment tools.
13. Sector-Specific Opportunities
Examining incentives for technology, renewable energy, manufacturing, fintech, and ESG-compliant industrial bases.
14. Incentives & Special Zones
A summary of tax holidays, industrial zones, and public-private partnerships.
15. Emerging Trends
Mapping the digital panopticon, green transitions, and future regulatory outlook.
Quick Reference
Incentives, according to BIDA
- An industry exporting more than 80% of its goods or services may claim exemption from income tax on 50% of export earnings, unless it already pays tax at a reduced rate, and may use the bonded warehouse and duty drawback systems and open back-to-back letters of credit.
- The 80% is a threshold to be maintained rather than met once, and the exemption is disapplied where a reduced rate already applies.
- Duty on capital machinery and spares is 1% for export-oriented industries, and VAT on the import of capital machinery and spares is exempt.
- It applies to capital machinery specifically, which is a narrower category than "equipment".
- Corporate income tax exemption — holiday and rebate — depends on the type of business and on the geographical location of the undertaking.
- Where the plant is built changes what it is entitled to, so the site is a tax decision as much as a commercial one.
Source: Bangladesh Investment Development Authority, incentives, read 3 August 2026. Rules change; check the current position before acting.