‘No foreign voluntary organisation can acquire property without permission’

Staff Reporter :
No foreign voluntary organisation can acquire any immovable property within Bangladesh through purchase, donation, exchange, or any other means without prior approval of the government.

The Ministry of Land has released a draft law titled ‘Foreign Voluntary Organisations (Regulation of Acquisition of Immovable Property) Act, 2023’ for public review and feedback on Saturday.

According to a statement released by the Land Ministry, as per the draft law, it also stipulates that if any foreign voluntary organisation acquires any immovable property within Bangladesh in violation of this provision, the property can be confiscated by the government, and the confiscated property will be handed over to the government without any encumbrances.

In the draft law, a foreign voluntary organisation refers to an organisation or authority that may or may not be a corporation.

Such organisations may be formed or established in any country outside Bangladesh. According to the interpretation of the draft law, the purpose of these foreign voluntary organisations is to serve any person, organization, or authority within Bangladesh or to conduct voluntary activities.

Individuals who have comments and suggestions regarding the proposed draft law are invited to submit them in writing to the Acquisition-1 Wing of the Ministry of Land.

Submissions can be made via post or email at acquisition1mol@gmail.com, and they should reach the ministry by 11 September 2023.

If the ‘Foreign Voluntary Organisations (Acquisition of Immovable Property) Act, 2023’ is enacted in Parliament, it will replace the ‘Foreign Voluntary Organisations (Acquisition of Immovable Property) Regulation Ordinance, 1983’.