DHAKA, Dec 9, 2025 (BSS) - The National Board of Revenue (NBR) is set to observe VAT Day tomorrow and VAT Week from December 10-15, highlighting the importance of timely registration under this year's theme, "Register on Time, Pay VAT Accurately." 

To reinforce the message, the revenue authority is launching a nationwide special VAT registration campaign from December 10 to 31, aiming to bring some 100,000 new businesses under the VAT net. Currently, the country has 6.44 lakh VAT-registered entities.

According to NBR, VAT accounted for 38 percent of its total revenue collection in the last fiscal year. During the first five months of the current fiscal year, VAT receipts grew by 22 percent compared to the same period a year ago, said an NBR press release.

Officials said that improving VAT administration and expanding automation will help sustain this upward trend, strengthening the nation's fiscal foundation.

NBR emphasized that revenue paid by the public plays a crucial role in national development. The collected taxes finance the Annual Development Programme (ADP), and support key sectors such as education, healthcare, road and rail infrastructure, debt servicing, social protection, agriculture, and subsidies in the power and industrial sectors.

Despite progress, the VAT collection system faces several challenges, including unregistered businesses, limited automation, weak enforcement of the input tax credit chain, excessive exemptions, manual audit practices, and difficulties in collecting VAT from e-commerce and digital platforms. 

To overcome these obstacles, NBR has expanded digital services such as online VAT registration, online return filing, e-payment, e-refund, e-audit, e-invoicing, and introduced a risk-based audit system to curb VAT evasion. 

The VAT Smart Invoice has also been rolled out to enhance transparency and compliance.

NBR reiterated that its primary goal is to ensure voluntary compliance and reduce tax evasion. The authority said that achieving the national vision for a developed and prosperous Bangladesh requires a strong and efficient VAT system. 

It called for active cooperation from consumers, businesses, industry owners, and the media to make VAT administration more effective.