The complete NBR import duty formula for Bangladesh (2026)

Bangladesh's National Board of Revenue (NBR) applies six distinct charges on most imports, and each one is calculated on a different base. Get the order wrong and your landed cost is off by 8–15%. This is the exact 2026 progressive-base formula that clearing agents and the Import Assistant Duty Calculator use.

The six charges, in the order they apply

#	Charge	Typical rate	Base
1	Customs Duty (CD)	0 / 5 / 10 / 15 / 25%	Assessable Value (CIF)
2	Regulatory Duty (RD)	0 / 3 / 5 / 10 / 20%	Assessable Value (CIF)
3	Supplementary Duty (SD)	0 / 10 / 20 / 30 / 45 / 65%	CIF + CD + RD
4	Value Added Tax (VAT)	15% (standard)	CIF + CD + RD + SD
5	Advance Income Tax (AIT)	5%	CIF + CD + RD + SD
6	Advance Tax (AT)	5%	CIF + CD + RD + SD

CD, RD, SD, and VAT rates come from the current Finance Act and the NBR SRO series for your HS code. AIT and AT are fixed by the Income Tax Ordinance and the VAT & SD Act respectively.

Worked example — polyester yarn, HS 5402.33.00

CIF value: BDT 1,000,000. Assume CD 10%, RD 3%, SD 20%, VAT 15%, AIT 5%, AT 5%.

CIF                                = 1,000,000
CD  = 10% × 1,000,000              =   100,000
RD  =  3% × 1,000,000              =    30,000
Sub-total 1 (CIF+CD+RD)            = 1,130,000
SD  = 20% × 1,130,000              =   226,000
Sub-total 2 (+SD)                  = 1,356,000
VAT = 15% × 1,356,000              =   203,400
AIT =  5% × 1,356,000              =    67,800
AT  =  5% × 1,356,000              =    67,800
─────────────────────────────────────────────
Total duties & taxes               =   695,000
Landed at customs (CIF + taxes)    = 1,695,000

Effective duty burden: 69.5% of CIF. A common mistake is applying VAT to CIF only — that understates the payable by ~30%.

Why progressive base matters

Each layer taxes the layers below it. Skip SD when computing VAT/AIT/AT and you under-collect. The NBR ASYCUDA World system enforces this; if your internal cost model uses flat percentages you'll under-quote customers, over-quote suppliers, or trip alerts at assessment.

Common HS-code traps

• Chapter 84/85 machinery — CD often 5% or 1%, but SD 0% and VAT 15%. Total burden ~26%.
• Chapter 22 beverages & 24 tobacco — SD stacks to 65–150%, so effective landed can exceed 200%.
• Chapter 30 pharmaceuticals — many entries have CD/RD/SD zero-rated for finished drugs but full stack on APIs.
• Chapter 87 vehicles — SD is CC-based and can hit 500%+ on large-engine passenger cars.

Always verify the current SRO for your HS code before quoting. NBR issues in-year amendments through Statutory Regulatory Orders (SROs) that override the base Finance Act.

The 5 mistakes we see most on customs assessments

1. Using invoice value instead of assessable value (CIF including insurance and freight, adjusted for related-party transfer pricing).
2. Applying AIT and AT to CIF only, not CIF+CD+RD+SD.
3. Ignoring RD — it exists on ~40% of tariff lines even when CD is low.
4. Treating VAT-exempt goods as SD-exempt (they usually are not).
5. Missing the AT vs VAT distinction: AT is not creditable in the same way; check your Mushak-6.3 flow.

How the Import Assistant Duty Calculator applies this

The free calculator at /tools/duty-calculator implements this exact progressive-base formula. Enter CIF, plug in the six rates from your HS code SRO, and it returns line-by-line duty amounts plus effective burden. No sign-in required.

For the full compliance stack — automated HS code classification, SRO change alerts, and audit-grade assessment reconciliation against ASYCUDA — see the Compliance module.

Sources & further reading

• National Board of Revenue, Bangladesh Customs Tariff 2025–26 — nbr.gov.bd
• Finance Act 2025 (Bangladesh)
• Value Added Tax and Supplementary Duty Act, 2012
• Income Tax Ordinance 1984, s. 53
• ASYCUDA World user manual (Bangladesh Customs)

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Last reviewed for the 2025–26 fiscal year. Duty rates change through in-year SROs; verify against nbr.gov.bd before filing a Bill of Entry. This article is educational, not tax advice.