Around 10 million small and middle-income bank depositors may receive tax relief on deposits of up to Tk 0.5 million in the upcoming fiscal year (FY).
The budget for FY2026-27 is likely to include full exemption from excise duty up to this threshold, up from the existing Tk 0.3 million.
Currently, bank deposits between Tk 0.3 million and Tk 0.5 million are subject to an excise duty of Tk 150.
An official estimate by the National Board of Revenue (NBR) suggests that the waiver of excise duty could result in a revenue loss of Tk 5.0 billion for the public exchequer.
However, officials consider the tax relief justified to support people affected by inflation and to encourage the unbanked population to enter the formal financial system.
A senior NBR official said students, consumers and small and medium enterprises (SMEs) would benefit from the proposed waiver. "Excise duty is also deducted on loan accounts. When depositors transfer money from a loan account to a regular account, banks deduct excise duty," he said.
Although excise duty is meant to be deducted once a year, in practice it is often charged multiple times when funds are transferred between accounts, he added.
"We will gradually rationalise the excise duty structure," the official said.
In the current fiscal year, the interim government raised the excise duty exemption limit on bank deposits from Tk 0.1 million to Tk 0.3 million.
Syed Mahbubur Rahman, managing director and chief executive officer (CEO) of Mutual Trust Bank (MTB), said the excise duty on bank deposits is not rational, as it is often deducted multiple times when funds are transferred between banks.
"Taxes must be imposed strategically and should not discourage marginal and unbanked people," he said.
He added that millions of small depositors currently prefer to keep their money in banks.
According to Bangladesh Bank data, there were around 170 million bank accounts as of June 2025.
From the next fiscal year, deposits up to Tk 0.5 million are expected to be exempt from excise duty.
At present, excise duty is Tk 500 for deposits between Tk 0.5 million and Tk 1.0 million.
Deposits between Tk 1.0 million and Tk 5.0 million are subject to a duty of Tk 3,000, while those between Tk 5.0 million and Tk 10 million pay Tk 5,000.
Deposits between Tk 10 million and Tk 50 million incur Tk 10,000 in duty, and those above Tk 50 million are charged Tk 20,000.
The NBR imposes excise duty under the Excise and Salt Act, 1944.
doulotakter11@gmail.com
