Salma Akter, a housewife from Dhaka’s Hazari Bagh neighborhood, bought a BDT 500,000 savings certificate from the Tanbari More branch of Sonali Bank. She was making BDT 4,560 a month from her investment till December. But in January, her profit abruptly fell to BDT 4,321. Salma called the bank branch because she was worried by the BDT 239 drop in just one month. She was told that the profit’s withholding tax had been raised from 5% to 10%. She voiced her annoyance at the covert, unannounced rise in withholding tax. Many other consumers are also experiencing fewer profits for the same reason.

Md. Rezanur Rahman, Deputy Director (Administration & Public Relations) of the National Savings Directorate, told Media  that previously, a 5% withholding tax applied to savings certificates for investments up to BDT 500,000, while investments above BDT 500,000 were taxed at 10%. Under the latest Income Tax Law (2023), a 10% withholding tax is imposed on all savings certificate investments. Until December, a concession was applied, but starting January, the concession was withdrawn, resulting in a 10% tax for all investors. This is why customers with investments below BDT 500,000 are seeing slightly lower profits in January.

When asked if any official notification had been issued, Rezanur Rahman said the matter had been communicated to the Internal Resources Division of the Ministry of Finance, but no notification has been released yet. Md. Abdur Rahman Khan, Secretary of the Internal Resources Division and Chairman of NBR, told Media that he is not aware of the matter. He will discuss it with the National Savings Directorate next Sunday.

Kamrul Islam, a resident of Dhaka University’s residential area, purchased a BDT 500,000 savings certificate in his wife’s name from Janata Bank’s Dhaka University branch. He also learned at the bank that the sudden doubling of withholding tax had reduced his profit. He told Media that the government cannot arbitrarily increase withholding tax without issuing any notification or announcement. He demanded that the previous withholding tax rate be reinstated immediately and the lost profit be refunded.

Savings certificates are considered a safe investment option for middle-class and retired people. The comparatively low withholding tax, especially for small investors, was a key incentive for investing in this sector. However, the recent change has effectively removed that advantage.

Salma Akter of Hazari Bagh said, “We small investors had our tax silently increased. There is no announcement, no notification. Why make such a decision quietly?” Ayesha from Jigatala Post Office said she had received BDT 1,824 profit from a BDT 200,000 investment in savings certificates in December 2025, but in January this year, the profit dropped to BDT 1,728. She relies on this money for household expenses and questioned why the government intervened.

On 31 December, the government issued a notification reducing the profit rate of savings certificates starting 1 January, but canceled the decision just four days later. As a result, the profit rates from July to December 2025 have been maintained for the first six months of this year.

Currently, there are two tiers for savings certificate investors: those investing below BDT 750,000 fall into the first tier, and higher investments fall into the second tier. Depending on the scheme, the profit rate ranges from 11.82% to 11.98%.