B Mirror Report: The Insurance Development and Regulatory Authority (IRDA) is planning to increase the registration renewal fees for insurance companies in Bangladesh, with a phased rise over the next several years. The fee, currently applied to 35 life and 45 non-life insurance companies operating in the country, is set to double this year, increase 2.5 times by 2028, and reach five times the current rate by 2030.

Known as the “registration renewal fee,” the charges are based on the total premium income of each company. IRDA proposed the increase, and the Ministry of Finance’s Financial Institutions Division has been working since eight months ago to amend the “Insurance Business Registration Fee Rules, 2012.” According to the division, the draft rules were finalized last July with the new rate structure and have now been vetted by the Ministry of Law. After completing the vetting process without changes, the rules will soon be formally notified.

Financial Institutions Division Secretary Nazma Mobarak told Media  that the notification could be issued within this week. She suggested consulting IRDA for details regarding the effective date of the new rates and the 2030 fee.

Under the existing 2012 rules, the renewal fee was Tk 3.5 per thousand of total premium, later reduced to Tk 1 in June 2018. The new proposal sets a three-tier structure: Tk 2.5 per thousand for 2026–2027, Tk 4 per thousand for 2028–2029, and Tk 5 per thousand from 2030 onwards.

IRDA registration is mandatory for insurance companies to operate. Applications for renewal must be submitted before November 30 each year, media nd approval becomes effective from January 1 of the following year. Sources at IRDA said most companies submitted fees and VAT for renewal by last November, but the authority has temporarily withheld renewals until the new rates are officially notified.

Questions remain over whether the 2026 fee will remain at Tk 1 or be raised to Tk 2.5 immediately, and clarity on the 2030 fee is also awaited. IRDA spokesperson Saifunnahar confirmed that renewals have not been processed pending the new notification.

Insurance companies, however, are not fully satisfied with the planned increase. A CEO of a life insurance company told Media  that the sector is already struggling with limited business growth, and imposing higher fees now may not be justified. He suggested that IRDA could implement the new Tk 2.5 per thousand fee starting in 2027 instead of 2026.