Interoperability among NBR wings: Project kicks off to boost revenue mobilisation

A first-of-its-kind initiative aimed at strengthening domestic revenue mobilisation by ensuring interoperability among different wings of the National Board of Revenue (NBR) has started operations.

The government has already signed a financing agreement with the World Bank on this, and the project work formally started last Thursday.

On Tuesday, the NBR project team and the World Bank task team held the first meeting at the BCS Tax Academy in the capital.

A key feature of the initiative is the creation of a unique identification number for income tax and VAT taxpayers under a World Bank-financed project involving Tk 11.9 billion.

The integrated programme -- bringing together direct and indirect taxes -- seeks to reform domestic revenue mobilisation in a coordinated manner while automating the tax administration system in a holistic way.

Under the project, interoperability will be established among the NBR's major systems, including ASYCUDA World, e-VAT, income tax, and other newly developed platforms, as well as iBAS++ and other key government data systems.

Enhanced inter-agency coordination among the income tax, customs, and VAT wings is a core objective of the initiative titled "Strengthening Domestic Revenue Mobilisation (SDRM)", which is jointly funded by the World Bank and the Bangladesh government.

The SDRM project is part of the broader Strengthening Institutions, Transparency and Accountability (SITA) programme, which is designed to improve governance and accountability.

NBR Chairman Abdur Rahman Khan told The Financial Express the project was approved by the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) to commence in July 2025, but preparatory processes required about six months. 

"The government order was issued on December 19, 2025. The project director, the deputy project director and other officials, mostly young ones, have already been appointed so that they can work without disruption," he said. The government expected the project to digitise the entire tax system through a cloud-based platform, he added.

"Not only the different wings of the NBR, but other relevant government departments will also be brought under the interoperability framework of this project," the NBR chief said.

The newly appointed project director, Md Masudur Rahman Masud, said this marked the first government initiative focused on the combined digitisation of revenue administration.

"Previously, several projects were undertaken separately for income tax or customs and VAT. Such fragmented approaches often created implementation challenges due to inter-agency coordination gaps," said Masud, now the BCS Tax Academy director general.

The project is expected to formally begin next month, while the NBR is currently awaiting budget allocations to rent a dedicated office.

The SDRM project is scheduled to conclude on June 30, 2030.

doulotakter11@gmail.com