SMEs urge govt to cut business costs, ease regulations

Business leaders have urged the government to reduce the cost of doing business, simplify regulatory procedures and improve law and order, warning that persistent global trade uncertainties and domestic challenges are weighing on investment and economic growth.

The demands were raised by entrepreneurs from small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the Dhanmondi-Mohammadpur area during an exchange of views organised by the Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI) on Saturday.

The meeting, titled "Improving the Overall Local Business, Trade and Investment Environment", brought together representatives from the Bangladesh Bank, the National Board of Revenue (NBR), the Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP), the Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) and the business community.

Entrepreneurs identified reducing the cost of doing business, automating and simplifying procedures for obtaining trade licences and other government services, improving access to finance, easing the process of opening letters of credit (LCs), and strengthening law and order as key priorities for creating a more business-friendly environment.

In his opening remarks, DCCI President Taskeen Ahmed said administrative complexities, ambiguities in tax and VAT regulations and law and order concerns continued to hamper business activities despite the private sector's significant contribution to the economy.

He said shortages of electricity and energy had increased transport costs, while the requirement for shopping malls and retail outlets to close by 7:00 pm had significantly reduced sales and business turnover.

Taskeen welcomed several measures announced in the national budget, including treating tax deducted at source as advance tax, lowering source tax on imports of industrial raw materials, allocating Tk 50.00 billion for the CMSME sector and introducing what he described as a stable five-year tax framework.

However, he expressed concern over the government's ambitious revenue collection target and growing reliance on bank borrowing to finance the budget deficit, arguing that these were limiting credit available to the private sector and discouraging investment.

Chief Revenue Officer of Dhaka South City Corporation Jonayed Kabir Sohag said the city corporation had adopted a zero-tolerance policy against harassment in providing trade licences and other civic services, which he said would reduce both the time and cost involved for businesses.

He also announced that, following a proposal from DCCI, the DSCC was planning to organise a Trade Licence Renewal Week at the chamber to make the renewal process easier for entrepreneurs.

Deputy Commissioner (Crime) of Dhaka Metropolitan Police Md. Tareq Zubair said police maintained a zero-tolerance approach towards extortion and that operations against extortionists were continuing.

He added that following the successful introduction of AI-based traffic management on several roads in the capital, police were considering a "Smart Policing, Smart City" initiative to expand AI-driven traffic management across Dhaka.

Additional Commissioner of the Customs, Excise and VAT Commissionerate, Dhaka (West), Nirjhar Ahmed said global supply chain disruptions and capacity constraints among domestic businesses had slowed trade, investment and commercial activities.

She said the newly introduced provision allowing businesses to submit VAT returns every three months would improve working capital management and ease business operations. She also stressed the need for greater adoption of advanced technologies to improve competitiveness.

NBR Second Secretary (Tax Policy) Nusrat Farzana said revenue mobilisation and tax incentives were equally important, adding that the revenue authority was working to maintain a balance between the two.

She said the Finance Act 2026 contained several initiatives aimed at simplifying business operations and noted that tax exemption facilities for the renewable energy generation sector had been extended until 2035

to encourage investment.

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