Bangladesh to speed up business approvals

Bangladesh’s government has outlined sweeping changes to its investment framework, seeking to cut the time needed to obtain all necessary business permits, licenses, and approvals from a current maximum of 355 days to just 18 days. Officials emphasize that these reforms will help stimulate both domestic and foreign direct investment by removing bureaucratic bottlenecks. The proposed framework would allow investors to secure 11 of the 12 mandatory regulatory documents within individual single-day processing windows.

The government further intends to simplify compliance requirements, enable simultaneous submission of applications, and establish a unified digital system to accelerate administrative workflows. These measures were approved during the second session of a committee tasked with modernizing industrial establishment procedures.

Operational Efficiency Initiatives

The session, led by Commerce and Industries Minister Khandakar Abdul Muktadir, convened at the Ministry of Textiles on October 19. While the administration’s long-term objective remains a 14-day processing timeline, Invest Bangladesh (IB) presented an intermediate plan targeting 18 days. Ashik Chowdhury, chairman of Invest Bangladesh, highlighted that businesses currently face approximately one year of delays from initial factory planning through to securing a letter of credit (LC). He stated, “Our goal is to ensure that a business can be set up within 14 days before the next budget.”

Accelerated Service Delivery

The proposed reforms accelerate delivery of 11 critical services to a 24-hour turnaround, including name clearance, non-operating bank account opening, company registration through the Registrar of Joint Stock Companies and Firms (RJSC), trade license issuance, tax identification number (TIN) allocation, regular bank account establishment, fire safety clearance, environmental compliance, building plan approval, import registration certificate (IRC), and business identification number (BIN) assignment. Government agencies currently take between 167 and 325 days to deliver these 11 services. The sole exception is the recommendation phase for IRC approvals, which will remain beyond a single day under the new system.

Digital Trade License System

The overhaul will replace traditional manual trade licenses with an automated Business Registration Certificate (BRC), issued instantly through a centralized digital portal upon fee payment. Currently, businesses must handle separate approval channels—city corporations, municipalities, or union parishads—each requiring 7 to 30 days for manual processing. Under the new model, applicants will receive immediate BRCs online, bypassing physical inspections and manual verification while maintaining unchanged fee structures, with payments directed to local government accounts.

The RJSC informed the committee that it has begun piloting a new platform to process name clearances and company registrations within one day. Investors are expected to access these automated services starting 15 January. The agency has also developed a timeline to expedite 54 post-registration procedures, with full operational automation scheduled for January 15, 2027. Concurrently, legislative amendments to the Companies Act 1994 and standardization of company memorandums are underway to align with international practices by mid-January. The RJSC portal will subsequently integrate with the national BanglaBiz platform.

Extended Clearance Periods

To alleviate administrative burdens, the government will extend fire license validity from one year to three years. The Fire Service and Civil Defence Directorate has established a new digital system for issuing no-objection certificates and licenses. Though the agency requested a six-month transition period to integrate with BanglaBiz, committee directives accelerated the deadline to November.

The meeting highlighted stark contrasts between local fire safety regulations and international standards: In Bangladesh, Licences require annual renewals, two separate applications, and multiple field inspections, taking up to 90 days. In Singapore, Private engineers issue 3-year licences within three days, backed by annual inspections In India, Licences are valid for three years and take approximately three weeks to obtain. In Vietnam, fire safety is assessed during initial building design approvals within six days, eliminating standalone fire licences.

Similarly, environmental clearance periods will be extended from one year to three to five years, depending on industry classification. Environmental public hearings will transition entirely to online formats, with the Department of Environment incorporating sector-specific experts into technical review committees. The department will also accept test results from labs accredited by the Bangladesh Accreditation Board (BAB) and public universities.

Additionally, the government is revising the Import Registration Order (IRO). Under existing rules, companies must obtain final approvals from both the Fire Service and the Department of Environment before receiving an IRC. The proposed amendments eliminate these prerequisites and will implement full digitalization of the IRC issuance process.