Automating Returns Through E-VAT Platform
NBR Mandates Online VAT In Eleven Sectors
- NBR mandated online VAT returns across eleven sectors
- Banking, MFS, pharmaceuticals, and telecoms integrated into portal
- Multi-business entities must follow digital filing rules
Accelerating the end-to-end digitization of indirect tax administration and enforcing automated fiscal compliance, the National Board of Revenue (NBR) has mandated online value-added tax (VAT) return submissions across 11 key corporate and industrial sectors. Under the new regulatory directive, enterprises operating within these high-volume verticals must process their statutory returns exclusively through the government’s centralized e-VAT digital portal.
According to official sources, a senior NBR official confirmed the development to the press on Monday, October 5, 2026. The directive was formally issued through an official regulatory order signed by Azizur Rahman, Member (VAT Policy) of the National Board of Revenue.
The 11 mandated sectors comprise cigarettes, mobile phones, insurance, banking and non-banking financial institutions, mobile financial services (MFS), MS products, pharmaceuticals, beverages, cement, tiles, and paints and varnishes.
The order explicitly stipulates that if an enterprise registered under these specified sectors engages in auxiliary or diversified commercial operations, the digital filing mandate will apply across its entire business framework.
The regulatory transition was enacted under the statutory provisions of the Value Added Tax and Supplementary Duty Act, 2012, along with its administrative rules. The order simultaneously supersedes all previous standalone administrative circulars concerning online VAT submissions. The revenue board retains the sovereign prerogative to onboard additional sectors or amend the existing portfolio as required.
//DBTech/ERD/SME/DPO//
