Muhammad Ayub Ali :
Despite June being the usual peak season for revenue collection, the National Board of Revenue (NBR) recorded a steep shortfall in June 2025, collecting only Tk 43,920 crore-37.58 percent below the revised target.
This underscores growing fiscal challenges and raises serious concerns about Bangladesh’s capacity to achieve its financial goals amid administrative disruptions and economic pressures.
According to the NBR’s latest report, total revenue collected in June stood at Tk 43,920 crore-falling short by Tk 25,470 crore from the month’s revised target of Tk 69,390 crore.
This amounts to a staggering 37.58 percent shortfall for the month, exacerbating concerns over the government’s ability to meet its financial obligations.
Even more concerning is that June’s revenue collection fell by Tk 9,955 crore compared to the same month last year, when Tk 53,875 crore was collected, indicating an 18.77 percent year-on-year negative growth.
This decline comes despite June typically being a peak month for collections as the fiscal year closes.
The NBR had originally set a revenue target of Tk 4.80 lakh crore for the FY2024-25, later revising it down to Tk 4.63 lakh crore due to macroeconomic constraints.
However, actual revenue receipts totaled only Tk 3.70 lakh crore-missing the revised target by Tk 92,626 crore or 19.98 percent. Still, this represents a modest 2.23 percent increase over the previous fiscal year’s collection of Tk 3.62 lakh crore.
A combination of administrative hurdles and nationwide protests within the revenue department added further pressure. In June, officers and employees staged demonstrations demanding system reforms and the removal of NBR Chairman Md Abdur Rahman Khan.
Complete work stoppages on June 28 and 29, under the NBR Reform Unity Council, severely disrupted tax operations before the movement was called off following mediation by business leaders.
All major revenue components showed negative growth in June. Customs duty collection totaled Tk 7,364 crore against a target of Tk 11,260 crore-down 19.86 percent year-on-year.
Similarly, import VAT collections were Tk 14,214 crore, missing the Tk 20,354 crore collected in June 2024 by over 30 percent. Income tax collections also declined by 8.47percent, totaling Tk 21,513 crore compared to Tk 23,504 crore a year earlier.
On a broader scale, income and travel tax collections reached Tk 1.29 lakh crore against a revised target of Tk 1.71 lakh crore-falling short by Tk 42,405 crore. Despite the gap, this segment showed a 2.87percent year-on-year growth.
Total VAT collection reached Tk 1.42 lakh crore-3.01percent higher than the previous year but still Tk 29,909 crore below target.
Meanwhile, customs duty collection registered the lowest growth at just 0.33percent, with receipts totaling Tk 1.20 lakh crore-Tk 20,312 crore short of the revised goal.
