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Investment Opportunities for Foreigners in Bangladesh

BIDA Investors Service


                   
BIDA is the zenith Investment Promotion Agency (IPA) in Bangladesh. BIDA provides a wide range of services to foreign investors. BIDA welcomes visiting foreign investors and delivers services that essentially help them decide whether or not to invest in Bangladesh. To ease foreign investors trouble BIDA delivers basic services like reception at the airport, hotel bookings, transport arrangement. BIDA also make arrangement of an itinerary with the accordance of individual demands.

BIDA offers support and guidance on every turn of the path of investment. Here are few of the services that BIDA provides on a complimentary basis-

  • Gives a comprehensive pre-investment information and counseling service
  • Investors enjoys a faster immigration services and also viable to other welcome services
  • Quick and hassle-free registration and approval of foreign, joint-venture and local projects.
  • Help foreign nations to gain work permit quickly.
  • Give instruction, guidance and approval in opening foreign companies branch, liaison and representative offices in Bangladesh.
  • Give assistance in obtaining industrial plots.
  • Facilitating utility connection ( gas, electricity, water, telecoms, sewerage etc) for industrial complex.
  • Approve foreign loan suppliers’ credit, PAYE scheme etc.
  • Give proper assistance, utility and facilities to set up a new business.
  • Assist obtaining visa/IP/LP/IRC/Visa on arrival
  • Provide assistance to gain warehousing license and import clearance
  • Support is given in importing capital machinery and raw materials
  • Help investors finding suitable suppliers, joint-venture and subcontractors partners.
  • Give access and help make connection with important private and public organizations.
  • Give quick consent to remittances of royalty, technical assistance fees and technical know-how.
  • Arrange site visits for foreign investors.
  • Coordinate and communicate between the foreign business community and other public agencies.
  • Offers comprehensive information and advice on starting and maintain operations in Bangladesh.
  • BIDA has an Online Registration System (ORS) to make registration quick and effective.
  • BIDA also provide Online Service Tracking (BOST)

Investment Incentives

        1. Tax Holiday & Tax Exemption: Investors get Tax Holiday and tax exception from 5 to 10 years depending on the area on investment. For example-

    1. Dhaka and Chittagong divisions get a period of 5 years Tax Holiday and reduced tax. (Dhaka, Gazipur, Mymensingh, Narayanganj, Chittagong, Bandarban ,Rangamati, and Khagrachari districts are excluded from this opportunity )
    2. Khulna, Barisal, Rajshahi, Rangpur and Sylhet divisions (City Corporation area are not included) enjoy 10 years tax exception.

Investment made in Public Private Partnership (PPP) enjoy 100% tax exemption for certain projects on capital gain and income.

Investors get 100% tax cut from Nationwide Telecommunication Transmission Network and Information Technology Enabled Services and software development also enjoys the same tax cut.

Interest paid on foreign loan get preferential tax exemption.

Royalties, technical assistance fees, technical knowhow, facilities  for repatriation get tax cut.

Income gets 50% tax exemption if its derived from export.

2.Machinery and plants enjoys accelerated Depreciation.

3. Raw materials used for producing export goods and also capital machines that are used for export goods get on exemption on import and custom tax.

4. Investors get a refund in tariff on import of raw material for export if it’s already paid.

5. Investors enjoys double taxation prevention if the product destined to export in countries has an double taxation voidance treaty with Bangladesh.

6. Investors are allowed to own 100% of the project they invest in.

7. Export oriented industries and large import for local selling gets bonded warehousing facilities.

8. Profits and dividend accumulating to foreign investment might be transferred in full. Full repatriation of capital invested from foreign sources will also be allowed. If foreign investors reinvest their dividends and or retained earnings, those will be treated as new investment.

9. The Foreign Private Investment (Promotion & Protection) Act. 1980 guarantees legal protection to foreign investment against expropriation and nationalization in Bangladesh.

10. International and local laws protect the Intellectual Property right.

11. In order to protect the investment bilateral and multilateral investment agreements are lawfully enforces.

12. Foreign nationals and employees easily access work permits to work on projects and no restriction is enforced on them.

13. Foreign Investors are permitted to work with local banks to secure capital.

14. 100% FDI or Joint Venture FDIs are permitted to partake in the primary and secondary stock markets.

15.100% FDI, Joint Ventures Partnerships, PPPs, Non-equity mode (Technology transfer, licensing Franchising, contracting etc.), and Foreign Lending are accepted.

16.Local and foreign investment get equal treatment for business.

Here are a list of Industrial undertakings which are eligible to Tax Holiday and Tax Exemption:

  • Active pharmaceuticals ingredient industry and radio-pharmaceuticals industry;
  • Automobile manufacturing industry;
  • Barrier contraceptive and rubber latex;
  • Basic chemicals or dyes and chemicals;
  • Basic ingredients of electronic industry (e.g. resistance, capacitor, transistor, integrator circuit);
  • Bi-cycle manufacturing industry;
  • Bio-fertilizer;
  • Biotechnology;
  • Boilers;
  • Brick made of automatic Hybrid Hoffmann Kiln or Tunnel Kiln technology;
  • Compressors;
  • Computer hardware;
  • Energy efficient appliances;
  • Insecticide or pesticide;
  • Petro-chemicals;
  • Pharmaceuticals;
  • Processing of locally produced fruits and vegetables;
  • Radio-active (diffusion) application industry (e.g. developing quality or decaying polymer or preservation of food or disinfecting medicinal equipment);
  • Textile machinery;
  • Tissue grafting;
  • Tire manufacturing industry;

Fiscal & Non Fiscal Incentives

Fiscal Incentives:

BIDA also providing fiscal incentives in number of ways. For example:

An industrial undertaking set-up in Bangladesh between the first day of July, 2011 and the thirtieth day of June, 2019 (both days inclusive) shall enjoy tax exemption on profits, income on this endeavor.

Dhaka and Chittagong divisions except Dhaka, Gazipur, Mymensingh, Narayanganj, Chittagong, Bandarban ,Rangamati, and Khagrachari districts will enjoy certain tax cut for five years from the beginning with the month of beginning of commercial production.

          For first and second year the tax exemption will be 100%

          For third year the tax exemption will be  60%

          For fourth year the tax cut will be 40%

          For fifth year the tax exemption  will be 20%

Non Fiscal Incentives:

Foreign entities looking to invest in Bangladesh offer waives restriction on land ownership.

Facilitates and offer no restriction on manufacturing activities.

Provide comprehensive and enticing tax incentives on overall package

Facilitates easy obtain of visa and work permits for foreign nationals.

Give inclusive and informative advice and assistance to set up business in Bangladesh and also offer assistance in post business support services.

BIDA helps potential investors by providing comprehensive investment opportunism in Bangladesh and assist procuring necessary official documents and permits in the most hassle free way possible.

BIDA also synchronized the founding of  One-Stop Service Center. Here are some of the functions of One-Stop Service Center-

  • Trade License from respective city corporation and local government body are given within 48 hours, assuming all required documents are provided. Bangladesh Investment Development Authority with local government division insures this service.
  • Company registration from Joint Stock Register’s office company registration complete within 48 hours.
  • Registration of Bangladesh Investment Development Authority is complete within a day, assuming all required documents are provided.
  • Electricity connection’s result are given within 10 days after receive the application from BIDA where representative of power development board authority is working.
  • Environmental certificate are given within 10 days from BIDA where respective officer from Environment Department are working.
  • From Bangladesh Investment Development Authority representative of Titas Gas Authority the result of gas connection are given within 10 days from the date of application received.
  • Foreign loan borrowing application disposed within 30 days assuming all required documents are provided.
  • Tax related complication is taken from BIDA by respective National Board of Revenue officer after getting application from entrepreneur and result are given within 10 days.
  • Online services also provided by BIDA.
  • Assistance for Land acquire are supported by BIDA.