|| Parliament Correspondent: The Jatiya Sangsad (JS) on Monday passed the Finance Bill 2026, incorporating a series of significant amendments to the proposed national budget, including raising the income tax-free threshold for individual taxpayers, withdrawing the controversial investment disclosure provision, and introducing a wide range of tax and duty concessions aimed at supporting businesses, industries and consumers.Finance Minister Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury moved the bill, which was passed by voice vote with Speaker Hafiz Uddin Ahmad, Bir Bikram, presiding over the session.Responding to recommendations made by the Prime Minister during the budget discussion, the Finance Minister revised several key proposals before the bill was approved.One of the most notable changes is the increase in the income tax-free threshold for individual taxpayers over the next five fiscal years. Under the revised structure, the tax-free income ceiling has been set at Tk 400,000 for FY2026-27 and FY2027-28, Tk 450,000 for FY2028-29 and FY2029-30, and Tk 500,000 for FY2030-31. The proposed budget had earlier fixed the thresholds at Tk 375,000, Tk 400,000 and Tk 450,000 respectively.The Finance Minister also withdrew the proposed provision requiring the disclosure of investments, which had sparked widespread public concern and misunderstanding. He explained that the measure had been intended to protect taxpayers from legal complications arising from land transactions registered at mouza values rather than actual market prices. However, he said the government decided to withdraw the proposal in deference to public opinion.In another major revision, the minister scrapped two additional proposals that had generated confusion among taxpayers. These included making the submission of Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN) certificates mandatory for opening most bank accounts and requiring TIN certificates for the registration of partition deeds and property mutations.To support the education sector, the Finance Minister proposed reducing the income tax rate for private universities from the existing 10 percent to 5 percent.The bill also broadens tax exemptions for indigenous communities in both the three hill districts and the plains by exempting salary income, in addition to earnings from business, agriculture and other economic activities.A series of fiscal incentives has been introduced to strengthen domestic industries. To support the shrimp sector, the government will withdraw customs duty, regulatory duty, supplementary duty and VAT on imported shrimp feed, probiotics, vitamins, minerals, other essential inputs and related machinery.The Finance Minister also proposed duty concessions on imported industrial raw materials and the complete withdrawal of the existing 10 percent supplementary duty on imported honey used by pharmaceutical and other manufacturing industries.Import duty on PVC and PET resin—widely used as industrial raw materials—has been reduced from the proposed 10 percent to 5 percent. Regulatory duties on imported cold-rolled sheets used in fire door manufacturing, coated chromium oxide for flat steel production and refined copper wire used by electrical cable manufacturers have also been withdrawn.Additionally, the proposed 15 percent VAT and advance tax on imported fire bricks have been abolished, while customs duty on unprocessed cashew nuts imported for domestic processing has been reduced from 15 percent to 5 percent.The government has further extended duty concessions on imported raw materials used in the local production of LED lamps and prefabricated buildings until June 30, 2030.To encourage formal payment channels in the digital economy, the Finance Minister proposed reducing VAT on advertisements placed on social media platforms, OTT services, search engines, online marketplaces and other digital media from 15 percent to 5 percent. He expressed optimism that the lower VAT rate would discourage informal overseas payments and improve tax compliance.Among other measures, the bill fixes VAT on gold, platinum and diamond jewellery at Tk 2,500, and on silver jewellery at Tk 100. It also exempts the existing 15 percent VAT on revenue-sharing arrangements with the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) and grants full VAT exemption at the supplier level for all fish supplies.To promote domestic automobile manufacturing, VAT on locally manufactured double-cabin pickup trucks and microbuses has been reduced from 15 percent to 5 percent.The Finance Minister also announced the relaxation of coefficient filing requirements under the VAT system for selected sectors, aiming to simplify compliance procedures and reduce the administrative burden on businesses.The Finance Bill 2026 is expected to provide tax relief for individual taxpayers while offering targeted fiscal incentives to key industries, promoting investment, improving tax compliance and supporting the country's broader economic growth objectives.