Starting Monday the July 7th, Bangladesh will roll out a nationwide online customs duty payment system for importers and exporters, enabling 24/7 digital payments through the automated challan (A-Challan) platform.
The National Board of Revenue (NBR) confirmed that all customs houses — including Dhaka and Chittagong — will adopt the system, which allows payments via internet banking, debit/credit cards, and mobile financial services like bKash, Rocket, Nagad, Upay, mCash, and TrustPay.
Previously, duties were deposited through RTGS during fixed banking hours, often causing delays in treasury updates. The A-Challan system ensures instant fund transfer to the government treasury, enabling faster port clearance and improved financial efficiency. This digital integration between the Asycuda World customs system and the Finance Division’s iBAS++ platform was piloted at ICD Kamalapur, then expanded to Pangaon and Chittagong. The system generates a unique receipt number upon payment, used for releasing goods. Users can also pay offline at over 11,700 branches of 61 banks.
The NBR called this a landmark reform in customs modernization, aiming to streamline trade operations and enhance transparency and revenue collection.
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