Desk Report,
One phone can be brought in duty-free per year when returning from abroad
The baggage rules for bringing goods from abroad have been slightly changed again. The facility to bring gold ornaments, gold bars and mobile phones has been increased. The National Board of Revenue (NBR) has issued a new directive in this regard on Wednesday. The directive states that under the existing baggage rules, a returning passenger has a provision to bring a new mobile phone by paying duty.
One phone can be brought in duty-free per year when returning from abroad
The provision has been amended and now it is being said that a passenger can bring a new mobile phone once a year while returning from abroad without paying any duty. And expatriates who have a Bureau of Manpower Employment and Training (BMET) card and who have been abroad for at least six months can bring two new mobile phones in a year duty-free.
The NBR had issued the new baggage rules (Non-Tourist Passenger Baggage Rules, 2025) on June 2. The new baggage rules came into effect from Wednesday. The NBR said in a press release that some changes have been made to the existing baggage rules to make them more effective and passenger-friendly.
The NBR said that based on the opinions of various stakeholders and field offices, the facility of bringing mobile phones and gold ornaments from abroad has been increased under the baggage rules. The new guidelines also state that a passenger returning from abroad can bring a maximum of 100 grams of gold ornaments once a year without any duty. And 200 grams of silver ornaments can be brought. In addition, under the new rules, a passenger can bring a gold bar weighing a maximum of 10 tola once a year by paying a duty of Tk 5,000 for every tola taken.
From now on, all passengers arriving from abroad can fill the baggage declaration form online. However, to prevent misuse of the facility, it has been made mandatory to submit the baggage declaration before leaving the customs hall or area.
