The Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Dhaka (MCCI) has welcomed Bangladesh's largest-ever national budget for FY 2026–27 as a bold initiative to rebuild the economy, while flagging serious concerns over the achievability of an ambitious revenue collection target and the risk of taxpayer harassment without meaningful structural reforms.

In a press statement issued on Saturday, MCCI President Kamran T. Rahman congratulated Finance and Planning Minister Amir Koasru Mahmud Chowdhury for presenting the 55th National Budget, the first of the newly elected government, amounting to Tk 938,000 crore, equivalent to 13.73 percent of GDP.

The chamber described the Tk 695,000 crore revenue collection target, 18.20 percent higher than the revised target of the outgoing fiscal year as ambitious and expressed doubt over its feasibility. Of the total, Tk 604,000 crore has been assigned to the National Board of Revenue (NBR), representing a 20.08 percent increase over the revised target.

MCCI noted that the NBR collected only Tk 326,928 crore, about 65 percent of its revised target through April of the current fiscal year, while ADP implementation stood at just 41.41 percent during the July–April period.

“Without structural reforms, efforts to meet this target may lead to increased pressure and harassment of taxpayers,” the chamber warned, adding that additional taxation could raise prices of essential commodities and burden ordinary citizens.

MCCI expressed concern over a sharp decline in total investment, which fell to 27.93 percent of GDP in FY 2025–26, the lowest in a decade. Private investment accounted for only 21.53 percent, with public investment at 6.40 percent.

The chamber said the investment slump was eroding employment opportunities and heightening poverty risks.

The chamber welcomed a Tk 144,338 crore allocation for social safety net programmes, up Tk 17,607 crore or 13.89 percent from the previous fiscal year, including dedicated funds for the Family Card Programme (Tk 14,500 crore), Farmer Card Programme (Tk 1,062.50 crore), and religious allowances (Tk 1,081 crore).

MCCI also praised plans to raise education spending from 1.39 percent to 2.0 percent of GDP and health expenditure from 0.58 percent to 1.01 percent, calling them reflective of long-term commitment to human capital development.

Among the welcome measures, MCCI commended proposed reforms to Tax Deducted at Source (TDS), reduced mandatory deposit requirements for tax appeals at tribunal and high court levels, quarterly VAT return filing, paperless VAT administration, and inclusion of labour within the VAT input definition.

However, the chamber raised concerns over the abolition of the 5 percent minimum income tax slab in favour of a 10 percent rate, reduction of individual investment tax rebates from 15 percent to 10 percent, and the proposed increase in the highest tax rate from 30 percent to 35 percent from tax year 2028–29.

It also flagged the absence of any proposal to rationalise or reduce the Minimum Turnover Tax on companies.

MCCI warned that a proposed data connectivity and information-sharing framework could pose serious threats to data privacy without adequate legal and technological safeguards.

Welcoming the Tk 60,000 crore “Stimulus Package 2026,” the BanglaBiz one-stop digital service platform, and expanded FTA, PTA and EPA trade agreements, MCCI said these would play an important role in attracting foreign investment and generating employment.

The chamber called for quarterly reviews of budget implementation given prevailing global economic uncertainties, and reaffirmed its commitment to partnering with the government to foster a business-friendly environment.

“The success of this mega budget will depend on institutional good governance, a harassment-free tax administration, and maintenance of macroeconomic stability,” the statement concluded.