What is a BIN number in Bangladesh?

A Business Identification Number is the identifier NBR issues to a business registered for VAT or enlisted for turnover tax. It goes on your tax invoices, on your returns, and on the documents your customers rely on to claim input tax.

How many digits is a BIN number?

13. A current e-BIN is a 13-digit number. Shorter 11-digit or 9-digit numbers are legacy identifiers from before the e-BIN system and are not current registrations.

Is VAT registration free in Bangladesh?

Yes. There is no government fee for VAT registration or for turnover-tax enlistment. Anyone quoting you a fee is charging for their own assistance with the application, not for a charge NBR levies.

What is the VAT registration threshold in Bangladesh?

A business whose annual turnover exceeds BDT 30,000,000 must register for VAT. Between BDT 5,000,000 and that figure a business enlists for turnover tax instead. Voluntary registration below the threshold is allowed.

How do I check if a supplier's BIN is valid?

Confirm it is 13 digits, then verify through NBR's own VAT system that it is live and belongs to the entity named on the challan, and that the name and address match the registration rather than only the number. Do it when the document arrives: an invalid supplier BIN disallows your input-tax claim, and by the time you find out you have already paid.

How long does BIN registration take?

A complete application with no queries typically clears in a few working days. Mismatched documents or a site visit extend it, and the length is usually determined by how quickly the applicant answers the divisional office rather than by the office itself.

BIN registration

BIN registration in Bangladesh: the complete walkthrough

Registration or enlistment, the documents to have ready, the Mushak 2.1 application block by block, what the divisional office checks, and how to verify a supplier BIN before it costs you a claim.

Reviewed 19 August 2026

The short answer

A Business Identification Number is the 13-digit identifier NBR issues when you register for VAT or enlist for turnover tax. You apply free of charge on vat.gov.bd using the Mushak 2.1 form, with your trade licence, TIN, national IDs, bank and premises documents.

Registration is free, voluntary registration below the threshold is allowed, and the obligation starts immediately: Mushak 6.3 on every taxable supply, the registers your activity requires, and a Mushak 9.1 return every month.

Register or enlist: two different statuses

The first decision is not how to apply, it is what to apply for. Registration and enlistment produce different obligations, and the gap between them is the difference between issuing tax invoices and not.

Registration and enlistment thresholds by annual turnover
Annual turnover	Status	What it commits you to
Above BDT 5,000,000	Annual turnover above the enlistment floor	Enlist for turnover tax. You get a BIN, you pay turnover tax on receipts, and you issue no Mushak 6.3.
Above BDT 30,000,000	Annual turnover above the registration threshold	Register for VAT. You get a 13-digit BIN, issue Mushak 6.3 on every taxable supply, and file Mushak 9.1 on the cadence your registration is placed on.

Figures our sources disagree about

At least one credible source disagrees with each figure below. What we publish is the reading with the most support, but the disagreement is printed here because you need it before you rely on the number.

Turnover tax: 4%: Two sources put the rate at 4% and one at 3%: The Financial Express, on 17 August 2026, describes small enterprises below the registration threshold as paying 3%. Separately, PwC's summary of the 2026 budget reports that the 4% charge is replaced for the simplified small-business regime by a fixed amount set by NBR and capped at BDT 200,000. Which of the three applies to a given business is a question for a consultant, not for this page.
Annual turnover above the enlistment floor: BDT 5,000,000: PwC's Bangladesh summary, reviewed 31 July 2026, instead puts the turnover-tax band at BDT 3 million to BDT 5 million. Three other sources, two of them from after the Finance Act 2026 took effect, describe the band as BDT 5 million to BDT 30 million, which is what is published here. If your turnover sits between BDT 3 million and BDT 5 million, the two readings disagree about whether you have any VAT obligation at all: settle it with a consultant before you decide.
Annual turnover above the registration threshold: BDT 30,000,000: PwC's Bangladesh summary, reviewed 31 July 2026, instead says registration must be obtained once turnover exceeds BDT 5 million, which is six times lower than the figure published here. Three sources support BDT 30 million, two of them dated after the Finance Act 2026 took effect on 1 July 2026, so that is the figure this site publishes. The gap is large enough to change whether a business must register at all, so if your turnover is between BDT 5 million and BDT 30 million, confirm your position with a VAT consultant before you trade unregistered.

Confirm any of these with your VAT consultant before you act on it. NBR is authoritative; this page is not.

An enlisted business pays turnover tax at 4% on its receipts, claims no input tax, and issues no Mushak 6.3. A registered business charges VAT at the rate each supply carries, claims input tax, issues Mushak 6.3 on every taxable supply and files a Mushak 9.1 return within 15 days of the quarter end if you file quarterly, which is now the default, or by the last day of the following month if you have opted to file monthly.

As of 19 August 2026, per the Value Added Tax and Supplementary Duty Act 2012 and its Rules 2016, and the Income Tax Act 2023, as amended by the Finance Act 2026. Rates, thresholds and schedules in Bangladesh are re-issued by SRO, often mid-year, and the figures here are drawn from professional secondary sources because NBR's own site was not reachable at review time. Confirm with your VAT consultant before you rely on any figure here. NBR is the authority; this page is not.

The documents you will be asked for

Collect these before you open the application. The most common cause of a slow registration is not a difficult question, it is a missing scan.

Trade licence, current and matching the business name you are registering.
TIN certificate for the business.
National ID of the proprietor, or of the directors for a company.
Incorporation certificate and memorandum for a company; partnership deed for a partnership.
Bank account details in the business name.
Evidence of the business premises: ownership document or lease, plus a utility bill in a matching name where you have one.
Import or export registration certificate, if you trade across the border.
A list of the business locations you intend to cover, so the central-versus-unit decision is made deliberately.

The Mushak 2.1 application, block by block

Mushak 2.1 is the registration or enlistment application itself. It is less demanding than its reputation, but two blocks decide things that are awkward to unwind later.

Blocks of the Mushak 2.1 registration application
Block	What it asks for	Why it matters
Identity of the business	Legal name, trade name, legal form, TIN, trade licence.	The legal name here becomes the name on every challan you issue. A mismatch with your trade licence stalls the application.
Owners and directors	Names, national IDs and shareholdings.	Used to link the registration to people the department can hold responsible.
Premises	Address of each place of business, and its ownership or tenancy.	This is what a site visit checks. A declared address you do not actually occupy is the fastest way to a rejection.
Economic activity	What you make, trade or supply, and under which categories.	Determines the rates you charge and which registers you must keep, including whether you keep 6.1 and 6.2 or the combined 6.2.1 book.
Turnover	Actual and expected annual turnover.	Decides registration against enlistment, and sets expectations you will be measured against.
Registration scope	Central registration or unit-wise registration.	Decides how many returns you file and how your books are structured. Changing it later is an application in itself.

Applying on vat.gov.bd, step by step

Registration is free. There is no government fee, and any intermediary quoting you one for the registration itself is charging for their own time, not for a fee NBR levies.

Work out whether you register or enlist. Compare your annual turnover against the thresholds. Registration and enlistment are different statuses with different obligations, and applying for the wrong one wastes weeks.
Collect the documents before you start. Trade licence, TIN certificate, national ID of the owners or directors, bank account details, incorporation documents for a company, and evidence of the business premises. Have them scanned and legible.
Create an account on vat.gov.bd. The online VAT system is where the application is made. There is no paper route worth taking and no government fee to pay.
Complete the Mushak 2.1 application. The application asks for the identity of the business, its owners, its premises, its economic activity and its expected turnover. Answer the economic-activity questions precisely, because they determine the rates and forms that will apply to you.
Declare your business units. Decide between a single central registration covering all locations and separate unit registrations. The choice affects how many returns you file and how your books are organised, and it is not trivial to change later.
Submit and respond to the divisional office. The application goes to the VAT division for your area. Expect questions and, for some applicants, a visit to the declared premises. Answer quickly: an unanswered query is the most common reason an application stalls.
Download the certificate and display it. On approval you are issued the registration certificate carrying your BIN. Display it at the place of business and put the BIN on your tax invoices from the first taxable supply.

What the divisional office actually checks

The department is verifying that the business exists where it says it does and is what it says it is. Three things attract attention.

A premises address that does not match the trade licence or that cannot be visited. This is the most common trigger for a site inspection.
A declared economic activity that does not fit the premises or the scale, for example a manufacturing activity registered to a small office.
An expected turnover that sits suspiciously just under a threshold.

None of these is fatal, and all of them are cheaper to explain up front in the application than to answer as a query three weeks in.

Timeline, and the certificate you end up with

A complete application with no queries typically clears within a few working days. An application with a document mismatch or a site visit runs longer, and the variable is almost always how quickly you answer the department rather than the department itself.

What you receive is the registration certificate carrying your 13-digit BIN. Display it at the place of business, put the BIN on your tax invoices, and give it to your suppliers so their own records are right.

Checking a supplier BIN before you accept their challan

This is the part with immediate money attached to it. Your input-tax claim rests on the supplier challan you hold, and a challan carrying an invalid, lapsed or mismatched BIN will not support the claim. The check costs a minute at the point the document arrives and is effectively impossible to fix a year later.

Confirm the shape: a current BIN is 13 digits. An 11-digit or 9-digit number is a legacy identifier from before the e-BIN system and is not a current registration.
Confirm the number is live and belongs to the entity named on the challan, through NBR's own VAT system. A number that resolves to a different name is the problem, not a typo.
Confirm the name and address on the challan match the registration, not just the BIN. Group companies sharing a trading name is a common trap.
Record the BIN against the supplier in your own books the first time you verify it, so the check happens once rather than per invoice.

What happens the day after you are registered

Registration is the start of an obligation, not the end of a task. From the first taxable supply you issue Mushak 6.3, you keep the registers your economic activity requires, and you file a Mushak 9.1within 15 days of the quarter end if you file quarterly, which is now the default, or by the last day of the following month if you have opted to file monthly, including periods with no sales.

Questions people ask

What is a BIN number in Bangladesh?: A Business Identification Number is the identifier NBR issues to a business registered for VAT or enlisted for turnover tax. It goes on your tax invoices, on your returns, and on the documents your customers rely on to claim input tax.
How many digits is a BIN number?: 13. A current e-BIN is a 13-digit number. Shorter 11-digit or 9-digit numbers are legacy identifiers from before the e-BIN system and are not current registrations.
Is VAT registration free in Bangladesh?: Yes. There is no government fee for VAT registration or for turnover-tax enlistment. Anyone quoting you a fee is charging for their own assistance with the application, not for a charge NBR levies.
What is the VAT registration threshold in Bangladesh?: A business whose annual turnover exceeds BDT 30,000,000 must register for VAT. Between BDT 5,000,000 and that figure a business enlists for turnover tax instead. Voluntary registration below the threshold is allowed.
How do I check if a supplier's BIN is valid?: Confirm it is 13 digits, then verify through NBR's own VAT system that it is live and belongs to the entity named on the challan, and that the name and address match the registration rather than only the number. Do it when the document arrives: an invalid supplier BIN disallows your input-tax claim, and by the time you find out you have already paid.
How long does BIN registration take?: A complete application with no queries typically clears in a few working days. Mismatched documents or a site visit extend it, and the length is usually determined by how quickly the applicant answers the divisional office rather than by the office itself.