The Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC) has recently issued a new notification (BSEC/CMRRCD/2009-193/65/PRD/147 dated October 2, 2023) for regulating the commodity exchange market in Bangladesh which is called ‘The BSEC (Commodity Exchange) Rules, 2023’. The Rules contains 66 rules and several forms and exhibits, aims to ensure fair, efficient, transparent, and orderly trading of commodity derivatives contracts, protect the interests of investors and the public, and promote the development of the commodity derivatives market. The new rules cover various aspects of the commodit ..read more

The Financial Reporting Council (“FRC”) has recently announced new regulations (SRO No. 291/AIN2023) that will broaden the definition of Public Interest Entity. These regulations, known as the Public Interest Entity (Based on Minimum Manpower) Definitions Regulations, 2023, were published on October 19, 2023. What are these new regulations? The new regulations define a Public Interest Entity based on the minimum number of manpower employed. According to the FRC, an Entity or institution must employ at least 50 people to be considered a Public Interest Entity. What does ‘manpower’ mean in this ..read more

The Parliament of Bangladesh has recently enacted a new law known as the Drug and Cosmetics Act 2023 (the “Act”). While Bangladesh has previously had regulations pertaining to drugs, this new act marks the first comprehensive law addressing cosmetics within the country. Key Provisions Relating to the Cosmetics: License of Cosmetics: No one can manufacture, distribute, import, or export cosmetics without a license from the Directorate General of Drug Administration (“DGDA”). The process, qualification and other conditions for obtaining a license will be determined by rules. Registration of Cos ..read more

As per the Guidelines for Foreign Exchange Transactions, Volume-1, Chapter-7, Section-2, Para-20, Authorized Dealer banks are required to verify the importer-exporter’s details, the country of origin of the goods, and the competitive price of the respective goods in the international market before opening any Letters of Credit (LCs). By FEPD Circular Letter No. 10 dated September 18, 2023, to verify the prices of imported goods in alignment with international market rates, Bangladesh Bank now instructed AD banks to require the following details in the Purchase Invoices (PI) from exporters or i ..read more

On 16 February 2023 Bangladesh Bank issued SD Circular No. 02/2023 informing all AD banks and their offshore unit about the change.   What has changed?   The circular requires all FDI receiving companies to submit the FDI reporting form (Form Fl-1) along with supporting documents to their authorized dealer bank within 20 days instead of one month after each quarter. Similarly, outward FDI sending companies are required to submit the FDI reporting form (Form F1-2) with relevant documents within the same time frame.  Additionally, all FDI receiving and outward FDI sendi ..read more

Government has introduced Perishable Goods Speedy Release and Disposal Regulations 2021 through a notification being SRO No. 269-Ain/2021/44/Customs dated August 8, 2021 (Gazette published on August 11, 2021).  As per the regulations, if everything is in order, the process of customs clearance of perishable goods should be completed within 48 hours. This timeframe can be extended; subject to the permission of the concerned commissioner. Any importer or exporter or their agent may submit a bill of entry to any system within 24 hours if they desire. Pursuant to the regulations, each Commiss ..read more

From now on, export-oriented companies will only get refunds of customs and regulatory taxes from the Director General, Duty Exemption and Drawback Office (DEDO). All exporters have to apply for refund of taxes within six months after export. Recently, the National Board of Revenue (NBR) has issued the Duty Drawback Regulations 2021. According to the regulations, the duties will be refunded under these rules. NBR reimburses the export-oriented companies for the various products, including raw materials and goods in the supply chain. Exporters will have to apply for a refund at the Director Gen ..read more

On 20.04.2021, RJSC published a notice (the notice is undated) regarding the payment of unpaid VAT for services received from RJSC during the financial year 2014-15 to 2017-18. During this period, though there was provision for VAT on the services of RJSC under the VAT Act 1991 and VAT Rules 1991, RJSC did not impose the VAT on their machine-generated payment slip. Here, you should note that any person who (was and) is preparing and submitting the return of any company cannot generate payment slip on their own or put the amount. The payment slip (as well as the amount) is generated by the syst ..read more

The Financial Reporting Council (FRC), the newly established regulatory body has issued a notification on 11 Match 2020 (Gazette Published on June 29, 2020). By this notification, FRC extended the range of companies that will be considered as ‘Public Interest Entity’ in addition to what was initially defined in the Financial Reporting Act 2015. Section 2(8)(Ka) allows the FRC Act to make such determination. As per the notification, if a firm earns annual revenue of Tk 5 crore, it will be treated as a public interest entity. In addition to that, companies having assets of Tk 3 crore or more, or ..read more

The Financial Reporting Council (FRC), a regulatory body under the Financial Reporting Act (FRA) 2015 recently issued a notification in this regard on 11 February 2020 (Gazette published on 2 March 2020). This notification was issued as a number of listed companies have misused the share money deposit to manipulate their performance. According to the notification: the share money deposit received for increasing equity or paid up capital of a company must not be withdrawn or taking back at any means. Share money deposit must be converted into paid up capital within six months of deposit. Share ..read more