The National Board of Revenue (NBR) will hold its second National Revenue Conference on August 18 at the Bangladesh-China Friendship Conference Center in Dhaka, with Prime Minister Tarek Rahman scheduled to inaugurate the event.

The conference will bring together the country’s three major revenue wings income tax, value-added tax (VAT), and customs on a single platform to identify weaknesses in the existing revenue system, explore future opportunities, and outline reforms aimed at strengthening revenue administration.

According to NBR officials, around 1,500 guests are expected to attend, including the finance minister, the prime minister’s economic adviser, the chiefs of the three armed services, and representatives from the business community, academia, and the revenue and trade sectors.

To ensure the event’s successful organization, the NBR has formed six sub-committees responsible for venue decoration, security, guest management, hospitality, reception, and logistics. A 31-member central steering committee, chaired by Acting NBR Chairman Ahsan Habib, has also been established to oversee the overall preparations. Director General of the Tax Inspection Directorate Syed Mahidul Hasan is serving as the committee’s member secretary.

Preparations for the conference are already underway. Following the inaugural ceremony, exhibition stalls showcasing revenue collection systems, tax administration, and initiatives to expand the tax base will be opened to the public.

A senior NBR official said the conference aims to improve public and business understanding of the country’s tax system and the NBR’s role, while addressing misconceptions about the revenue authority. The prime minister and the newly appointed NBR chairman are expected to outline the future direction of revenue administration and ongoing reform initiatives.

The first National Revenue Conference was held over two days in February 2023, marking the country’s inaugural event of its kind. It featured documentary screenings on NBR activities, separate seminars on income tax, VAT and customs, information booths, and a Revenue Museum highlighting the history of Bangladesh’s revenue administration.

The inaugural conference focused on increasing revenue collection, expanding the tax net, promoting taxpayer-friendly services, and advancing technology-driven revenue management. It also emphasized digital transformation through e-filing of tax returns, online TIN and BIN registration, e-payment systems, customs automation, risk-based audits, enhanced information sharing, and the use of data analytics.

The second conference comes at a time when the government has placed revenue mobilization, tax base expansion, and reform of the revenue administration among its highest economic priorities.