DIPAN NANDY

Government ministries and their subordinate agencies owe more than Tk 629 crore in Land Development Tax (LDT), with the highest arrears accrued by the ministries of railways, environment, and local government.

Data from the Land Reform Board shows that arrears owed by institutions under 37 ministries stood at Tk 711.21 crore, including Tk 561.78 crore accumulated till June 2025 and an additional Tk 149.43 crore since then. Of this, around Tk 82 crore has been recovered, leaving Tk 629.14 crore unpaid.

Bangladesh Railway, under the Ministry of Railways, is the largest defaulter, owing Tk 202.25 crore.

Md Afzal Hossain, director general of BR, said, “We are making efforts to pay the outstanding land development tax. However, the allocation we receive from the Ministry of Finance is insufficient. For example, if we are required to pay Tk 100 crore in taxes, we receive only Tk 20–30 crore in allocation. That is why the backlog has accumulated.”

“Bangladesh Railway is a service-oriented institution. Yet we have to pay land development tax as if we were a commercial entity. I would request the government to reconsider and reassess the land development tax, taking this issue into account,” he added.

Other major defaulters include the Roads and Highways Department (Tk 57.88 crore), Water Development Board (Tk 28.96 crore), city corporations (Tk 26.04 crore), the Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (Tk 16.42 crore), and the Public Works Department (Tk 16.39 crore).

The Land Reform Board has recently taken initiatives to recover the outstanding taxes, including organising a workshop in January and planning to send letters to all ministries and agencies next month. A draft letter has been finalised, stating that mobilising internal resources and increasing domestic revenue are essential for national development and that land development tax is a key source of government revenue.

Officials of the Land Reform Board say the overall arrears have reduced compared to previous years following various initiatives to Contacted,

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