NBR goes after private universities dodging tax

More than half of Bangladesh’s private universities are now facing the tax authority’s wrath for failing to file their tax returns in the last fiscal year.

In a drive to bring non-compliant institutions under the tax net, the National Board of Revenue (NBR) has served notices and slapped fines on them for not submitting the returns, according to documents obtained by The Daily Star.

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The move is part of a broader government crackdown on non-filers and tax evasion that has, in recent months, widened its scope to cover educational institutions.

Md Rafiqul Islam Chowdhury, NBR member (Tax Survey and Inspection), told this correspondent, “We issued notices in accordance with the Income Tax Act. Our efforts are ongoing, and we will take further stringent measures.”

He added that they would gradually move on to other sectors to overhaul non-compliant entities.

Currently, 116 private universities operate in Bangladesh. Around 40 institutions have received such notices.

Besides, nearly 10 have already been fined for non-compliance, while seven others either have no Taxpayer Identification Numbers (TINs) or have been directed to open income tax files.

“As the 2025-26 fiscal year ended a few months ago, we issued notices to all non-filing private universities, asking them to explain their failure to file returns,” said an NBR official involved in the process, seeking anonymity.

For some educational institutions, the official said, this was not a one-off lapse. “Some universities have remained non-compliant for many years. We have fined them under the existing laws.

“In some cases, we did not find any documents related to tax files or TINs. We are also bringing those institutions under the tax net.”

Among the universities fined for non-compliance are University of Science & Technology Chittagong (USTC), Asian University for Women in Chattogram, BGC Trust University Bangladesh, and International Islamic University Chittagong (IIUC).

Those found without TINs, or directed to open tax files, include NPI University of Bangladesh, Rajshahi Science & Technology University (RSTU), and Ahsania Mission Science and Technology University in Rajshahi.

The move comes even as the government has eased the tax burden on the sector. In the last budget, the income tax rate for private universities was cut from 10 percent to 5 percent.

But the reduced rate does not exempt universities from other obligations under the tax law, including withholding and depositing taxes at source with the government, the NBR official said.

“When a university remains outside the return-filing system, the government misses out on potential revenue,” he said.

The official also indicated that the drive would not stop with universities. Private medical colleges are likely to be next in line for notices, he said.

Among the universities that were fined or served notices, this newspaper contacted at least six authorities to understand the reasons behind their non-compliance.

Ishtiaq Hossain, accounts executive at USTC, said the university was unable to file its tax returns because its audit process was still ongoing.

“We were notified by the tax office and have already submitted our reply. The audit report has yet been completed, so the returns could not be prepared and submitted.”

He added that the university had been given six months to submit all outstanding returns. However, filing the returns within the deadline would not necessarily waive the penalty.

“Once we submit the return, the tax office will conduct an assessment and add the penalty accordingly.”

Naznin Sultana, director of finance at the Asian University for Women, said, “I can’t talk to you without permission from the higher authorities.”

However, an official of Rajshahi Science and Technology University claimed that the university has a TIN from Dhaka and also filed its return last year.

Rejecting the claim of not having a TIN, Prof Mir Mahfuzul Haque, treasurer of NPI University of Bangladesh, said, “We definitely have it.”

Asked when the university last filed its tax return, he said he could not say immediately.

Similarly, Prof Md Akhtar Uddin, dean of Faculty of Business Studies at Ahsania Mission University of Science and Technology, said the university has a TIN. “But I need to check when we submitted the return last.”

AKM Asaduzzaman, director of accounts at IIUC, said the university had not received any notice and that it regularly submitted its tax returns.

Responding to the NBR notice, BGC Trust University Bangladesh said it could not file tax returns for the 2021-22 through 2025-26 tax years because its audit reports had yet been completed.

“They have stated that they will submit the returns once the audit process is completed,” according to NBR documents.

This is not the first time private universities have found themselves in the NBR’s crosshairs.

The latest notices follow an earlier phase of enforcement in which the tax authority froze the bank accounts of at least 12 private universities for failing to comply with instructions to pay 15 percent income tax in 2024.

Over 30 private universities, including the 12 whose accounts were frozen, had been sent notices directing them to clear outstanding tax liabilities.

That round of enforcement followed a landmark ruling by the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court, which overturned a High Court verdict declaring illegal the government orders imposing a 15 percent tax on private universities and private medical, dental, and engineering colleges.

The apex court’s decision cleared the way for tax authorities to pursue the institutions for their applicable tax liabilities, providing a legal basis for the NBR’s latest, wider enforcement drive.

Talking to this correspondent, Ishtiaque Abedin, secretary general of Association of Private Universities of Bangladesh, welcomed the NBR’s initiative but urged the authorities to consult universities before taking punitive action.