Power, energy and mineral resources minister Iqbal Hasan Mahmood has sought foreign investments in the energy sector to ensure the energy security of the country. 

“Bangladesh requires substantial investments in energy infrastructure to support industrial growth, trade competitiveness and economic prosperity,” he said while speaking at ‘Baku Energy Forum 2026’ in Azerbaijan, according to a press release received here today. 

He said the government is committed to a ‘Bangladesh First’ approach where energy security, affordability and sustainability remain central to the country’s national development strategy. 

The minister attended the Ministerial Plenary Session (Segment 1) on International Cooperation for a Resilient and Diversified Energy Future in Baku, Azerbaijan, on June 1.

Addressing the session, he sought investment in onshore and offshore bidding rounds, a land-based LNG (Liquefied Natural Gas) terminal, second oil refinery, and expansion of renewable energy.

Mahmood said the government launched offshore bidding rounds last month, with a six-month timeline extending until November 2026, as an election commitment to emphasize domestic resource exploration. “We have updated the fiscal and commercial terms to make the investment environment more attractive to investors,” he added. 

The minister said renewable energy has been accorded another key strategic priority, with a clear target of generating 10,000 MW of electricity from renewable sources by 2030. 

“Cooperation among D-8 countries in the hydrocarbon sector is extremely important.  Bangladesh believes that hydrocarbons continue to play a vital role in ensuring a reliable and affordable energy supply,” he said.

Bangladesh is highly interested in learning and knowledge exchange from the countries that have vast experience in renewable energy expansion and carbon market processing, he said, adding, “We are also interested in welcoming investors from countries with renewable energy expertise to invest in Bangladesh.”    

MSH

Companies and organisations will be required to file tax returns on the income generated by employee welfare funds from the current fiscal year and pay a 27.5 percent tax on the earnings. 

The Income Tax Act 2023 incorporates the provision, lifting the tax exemption and amnesty on the compulsion to file returns for funds such as provident funds, gratuity funds and workers' profit participation funds maintained by the private sector.

The law, however, has exempted government-managed provident funds from taxation, raising questions.

TIM Nurul Kabir, executive director of the Foreign Investors' Chamber of Commerce & Industry, said there were many other avenues to collect tax.

"Employees benefit from provident funds after their retirement. So, the authority should not slap taxes on retirement benefit."

He said while levying the tax, the government has not treated provident funds of the private and public sectors equally.

"It is discriminatory," he said, adding that they would appeal to the tax authority for the withdrawal of the tax on income from provident funds.

Debabrata Roy Chowdhury, director for legal, regulatory and corporate affairs at Nestlé Bangladesh PLC, said the introduction of income tax on trust funds would lower the overall income from such schemes.

"This will have an adverse long-term impact on retired employees of private organisations."

Chowdhury urged the authority to address the issue in line with the spirit of the government's initiatives aimed at ensuring social security for private sector employees.

"The recent introduction of the universal pension scheme for private sector employees is a good example of that."

A senior official of the NBR, on condition of anonymity, said the income of government-managed provident funds was exempted in line with the Provident Fund Act 1925.

He said provident funds under the private sector had been historically exempted and there was no requirement to submit tax returns. As a result, it was unclear whether the funds were properly utilised.

"From now onwards, we will see proper disclosure."

The tax official said the contribution of payroll tax is about 3 percent of the total income tax although it should increase as the economy is growing.

Md Shahadat Hossain, a former president of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Bangladesh, said income from investment in savings certificates, where people invest as a source of future earnings, is already taxed.

"From that perspective, the imposition of tax on provident and other employee welfare funds seems okay."

However, Towfiqul Islam Khan, senior research fellow at the Centre for Policy Dialogue, said social protection for private sector employees was low.

"Provident and other workers' welfare-related funds provide little social protection. The imposition of tax will increase inequality. But there can't be any discrimination in taxation between private and government provident funds."

Khan, citing the latest income tax law that replaced the Income Tax Ordinance 1984, said the NBR tried to find new avenues to increase tax collection and improve the nation's revenue-gross domestic product ratio, which is one of the lowest in the world.

"We can see the desperation of the tax authority to boost collection. This ultimately reveals the inability of the NBR to catch the tax evaders and illicit money makers."