Budget FY25 revenue target Tk5.32 lakh crore

Bangladesh’s budget revenue target for FY2024-25 has been set at Tk 5.32 lakh crore – 9.5 per cent of the country’s GDP, while the budget size will be Tk 7.97 lakh crore – which is 14.2 per cent of the GDP.

The decision was taken at the Economic Coordination Council meeting, chaired by Finance Minister Abul Hassan Mahmood Ali, held on Thursday.

Possible strategies for revenue collection include making e-challan mandatory for musak payments of Tk 10 lakh or above, instead of current ceiling Tk 50 lakh, to increase revenue collection.

The Electronic Tax Deduction at Source (ETDS) online platform has been implemented in tax management, along with reducing tax at source and litigation complexity, in which verification of all types of financial report preparation is being done.

Musak collection will be enhanced through Electronic Fiscal Device Management System (EFDMS) to increase transparency and speed in revenue collection.

For this purpose, with the help of private organisations 60,000 EDF machines will be introduced in Dhaka and Chattogram in the initial phase. An agreement has also been signed in this regard.

Coordination with the Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA), Dhaka Power Distribution Company (DPDC), Election Commission (EC) and city corporations will be done to identify new taxpayers.

At the same time, mobile financial services have been launched to increase efficiency in revenue management to provide better tax services, increase revenue collection and economic codes have been introduced for immediate deposit of revenue in government coffers.

Relevant officials said these procedures will boost revenue collection. The revenue collection target is thus rational. The rest of the money will be filled as a deficit through foreign aid, bank loans and sale of savings bonds, they added.

The upcoming budget will be placed taking into consideration high inflation in the country's economy, shortage of foreign exchange reserves, import controls, and risks in the financial sector. The finance minister has mainly focused on cost reduction to curb inflation.

According to sources who were present at the meeting, no one disagreed with the size of the budget presented by the finance secretary. As a result, the budget size for the next financial year remains as initially determined.

However, it will be finalised after a meeting with the prime minister. Inflation is estimated to be around 6.5 per cent in the next financial year, and growth has been estimated at 6.75 per cent.