BIDA Is Now Invest Bangladesh: Who Must Register, Which Approvals Apply and What You Gain

If you searched for BIDA registration, the first thing to know is that BIDA no longer exists as a standalone agency. The Bangladesh Investment Development Authority was dissolved when the Invest Bangladesh Act, 2026 took effect, and its registration and approval work now sits with Invest Bangladesh. Old guides, forms and some official pages still say BIDA, which is why the name keeps circulating.

The bigger misunderstanding is about who needs it. Business registration in Bangladesh depends on your structure: for a company, the basic setup typically involves RJSC, tax registration and local-government licensing. Invest Bangladesh registration is a separate layer for private industrial projects, including domestic, foreign-invested and joint-venture projects. Foreign company branch, liaison, representative and project offices follow a separate approval route. Neither replaces the underlying business registration or incorporation required for your chosen legal structure.

Whether you fall into that group depends on your activity, your location and your legal structure. A single test like "do we have a factory" or "do we have foreign money" will mislead you. This guide covers the rules as they stand in September 2026, the approvals the authority handles, the incentives you may reach, and the parts still in transition.

From BIDA to Invest Bangladesh: What Changed in 2026

BIDA was created in 2016 by merging the Board of Investment and the Privatization Commission. In July 2026 BSS reported that Parliament had passed the Invest Bangladesh Bill on 15 July, replacing BEZA, PPPA and BIDA with one statutory body. The dates that matter are:

• 15 to 16 July 2026: Parliament passes the bill, and the Act carries a 16 July date on the official laws portal.

• 20 August 2026: the Act comes into force through a gazette notification.

• 23 August 2026: Invest Bangladesh announces that it began operations on the first working day after the gazette.

Some news reports describe 20 August as the start of operations. The authority's own launch announcement gives 23 August, so treat 20 August as the legal effective date and 23 August as the operational launch.

Section 66 of the enacted Act repeals four laws: the Bangladesh Economic Zones Act, 2010, the Public-Private Partnership Act, 2015, the BIDA Act, 2016 and the One Stop Service Act, 2018. It dissolves BIDA, BEZA and PPPA. It does not touch the Hi-Tech Park Authority. Some coverage of the bill in July mentioned four merging agencies, but the enacted text lists three.

The transition is not purely cosmetic. Sections 64 and 65 keep existing rules and regulations made under the repealed BEZA, PPP and BIDA laws in force until replacements are issued, to the extent they do not conflict with the new Act. That is why legacy BIDA procedures still appear on current official pages.

Who Handles What After the Merger

The old habit of treating everything as "BIDA" no longer works. The table shows the general picture, and you should confirm your exact case with the relevant authority.

The last row still needs case-specific checking, because a business can be more than a shop.

Who Needs Invest Bangladesh Registration Under the New Rules

The current Invest Bangladesh FAQ lists who can register: domestic investment projects, 100% foreign investment projects, joint venture entities, and branch, liaison, representative, project and other offices. It says both manufacturing and service industries can register. It also says registration is not a requirement for commercial and trading activities.

The law is more specific than the FAQ. Under section 28 of the Act, anyone planning a private-sector industrial project must apply for registration, unless the project falls under the jurisdiction of another statutory authority. Section 29 requires existing unregistered private industries to register through the prescribed guidelines. It also requires foreign-registered companies to obtain permission for branch, liaison, representative and project offices.

The Act defines industry as a profit-making or commercial venture that uses technology, labour, capital, intellectual property or machinery significantly to create or add value to products. It also covers service or infrastructure activities recognised by state policy. So a service business is not automatically outside the system, and a reselling business is not automatically inside it.

Three questions decide whether registration applies:

• Activity: is it purely commercial or trading, or an industrial project, including a recognised service industry?

• Location: is it outside the jurisdiction of another statutory authority, or inside an export processing zone, hi-tech park or BSCIC estate?

• Structure: is it a local company, a joint venture, a 100% foreign-invested project or a foreign company office?

A fourth question is separate: which services do you need? Visa recommendations, work permits, import-related recommendations and incentives are things you may want from the authority. They are not legal triggers. For example, the FAQ describes P1 visa recommendations for foreign investors in industrial and commercial enterprises, so needing a visa does not turn a commercial business into an industrial project.

Foreign ownership is not the trigger either. A trading company with foreign shareholders is still assessed by its activity and structure, and a foreign-invested project registers because it is an industrial project outside another authority's jurisdiction. Our guide to foreign investment for startups covers the funding side.

Approvals and Services the Authority Provides

The FAQ lists pre-investment counseling, project registration, office approvals, economic zone development, PPP support, visa recommendations and work permits, royalty and technical fee approvals, import facilitation, foreign loan approval and aftercare.

Different services run on different timelines and requirements. The domestic projects page shows new domestic industrial project registration at one day, subject to complete documents, with a fee starting at Tk 5,000 plus 15% VAT for projects up to Tk 10 crore. Machinery inclusion, ownership change and address change amendments take three working days. Ad hoc IRC recommendations take ten working days.

Import services have several distinct steps. An Import Permit (IP) recommendation applies to foreign investors importing capital machinery without opening a letter of credit in Bangladesh, and the machinery value counts as equity. An IRC recommendation supports new industries seeking an Import Registration Certificate. The IRC itself is issued by the Chief Controller of Imports and Exports (CCI&E), not by Invest Bangladesh.

Visa recommendations for foreign investors are promised within 24 hours when documents are complete. Employers must file for a work permit within 15 days of the foreign employee arriving.

Foreign company offices follow a separate path. Under the current Invest Bangladesh guidance, approval covers a branch, liaison, representative or project office, with an initial period of three years. The office must bring in foreign exchange worth US$50,000 or more within two months of approval. It must also notify Bangladesh Bank within 30 days and apply to RJSC within 30 days.

Unlike the industrial registration, office approval involves uploading documents and then submitting them physically. Our note on RJSC filings for startups explains the corporate side of that step.

From OSS to BanglaBiz: The Platform Transition

At present, BanglaBiz and the legacy one-stop service portal coexist. The authority says it continues to operate BanglaBiz as Bangladesh's single digital platform for investment services, while its FAQ and service pages still send users to the legacy OSS portal. It also says existing investor services continue under Invest Bangladesh.

Section 50 of the Act requires a single digital platform for investment and business services. It also requires existing separate one-stop portals to be integrated or migrated into that platform within the applicable cut-off timeline. Confirm which entry point your service uses before you file.

Benefits You May Be Eligible For

Registered businesses can access financial and non-financial incentives declared by the government. The authority currently lists corporate income tax exemptions, bonded warehouse facilities and reduced total tax incidence for newly established companies, depending on business type and location. It also says these are subject to the Finance Act and statutory regulatory orders.

Import-related benefits the authority currently lists include:

• Duty of 1% on capital machinery and spares for export-oriented industries, and 3% for other industries

• VAT exemption on imported capital machinery and spares

• Duty-free spare parts up to 10% of machinery value every two years for exporters

The authority also lists accelerated depreciation of 50%, 30% and 20% over three years for new industrial undertakings, in place of a tax exemption. The Act adds that incentives are provided through government gazette notifications, so registration is an eligibility step, not a guarantee. Tax rules ultimately sit in tax law, so check the Finance Act, 2026 and current NBR orders before you rely on any figure. Our overview of tax for startups is a useful starting point for the budget.

How This Plays Out for Bangladeshi Founders

Sector policy gives useful hints. The Industrial Policy 2022 lists logistics among export diversification sectors and hospitals and clinics among priority sectors. Whether a particular company qualifies depends on its own activity, so use these as prompts for questions, not conclusions.

A logistics business such as Loop Freight operates in a sector the policy names, so a founder in that space should ask whether their activity counts as an industrial project or a service industry recognised under state policy.

Healthcare providers like Praava Health work in a listed priority sector, where equipment imports are the obvious touchpoint with the incentive system.

Software exporters such as Brain Station 23 face a different question. The authority lists software development and ITES among categories eligible for tax exemption, but the exemption itself comes from tax law. Ask an accountant to confirm the current position under the Finance Act and NBR orders.

Practical Steps: Applying Through the Portal

These are the general steps, and the screens vary by service:

1. Create an account on the portal that serves your service and complete your profile.

2. Select the service and upload the required documents.

3. Pay the fee where one applies.

4. Track the application and respond to any queries.

Not every service ends the same way. Some deliver approvals online, while others, such as foreign company office approval, require physical submission or inter-agency review.

For a new domestic industrial project, prepare the certificate of incorporation, memorandum and articles, director list with nationality and address, TIN, trade license and land deed or rental agreement. Add a project profile if the cost exceeds Tk 10 crore, and a no objection certificate for controlled sectors. Machinery lists come up in particular procedures such as machinery amendments and import clearance, not as a universal registration document.

The FAQ also describes an incorporation workflow for companies set up through the portal. It runs from name clearance to a temporary bank account, then to the memorandum and articles, RJSC approval, e-TIN and trade license. VAT or BIN registration comes last, where VAT law requires it. Other legal forms and foreign offices follow different sequences. Our guide to a business bank account covers the account step early, because foreign-invested projects need an encashment certificate.

Deciding Whether Invest Bangladesh Belongs in Your Plan

Start with what your business actually does. If you operate a purely commercial or trading business, Invest Bangladesh says registration is not required. Your other obligations depend on your legal structure and activity and may include a trade license, TIN, VAT or BIN, and import or export registrations where applicable. If you make products, add value through significant capital, technology or machinery, or run a recognised service industry, treat project registration as part of setup.

Then check where you will operate and how you are structured. A location under BEPZA, BHTPA or BSCIC points to a different authority, and a foreign company office needs its own approval.

Finally, list the services you need. Invest Bangladesh handles or facilitates certain visa, work permit and import-related approvals and recommendations, while other regulators such as CCI&E issue specific licences and registrations. Incentives depend on the Finance Act and government orders, not on registration alone.

Because the merger is only weeks old, verify each step on official channels before filing. Keep every approval and tracking number in one folder, and ask a chartered accountant to confirm current rates before you budget around any duty or tax saving.