A recent investigation by the National Board of Revenue (NBR) has revealed that more than 1,300 luxury car owners concealed information about their vehicles in their tax files to evade taxes. Among them, 409 owners did not file any tax returns at all.
The NBR’s Central Intelligence Cell (CIC) reported that all these cars are registered with the Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA). The price of each vehicle (including duties and taxes) ranges from Tk 10 million to Tk 100 million. The list includes brands such as Toyota, BMW, Mercedes, Jeep, Land Rover, Audi, Range Rover, Porsche, Jaguar, Bentley, Rolls-Royce, Cadillac, Maserati, Tesla, Ferrari, and Lamborghini.
According to intelligence officials, the owners include businessmen, politicians, government officials, their families, and corporate entities. CIC Director General Ahsan Habib stated, “These owners did not declare their cars in their tax files. In other words, they concealed an equivalent amount of income used for purchasing the vehicles, which could indicate that the income came from illegal sources.”
He further said that the concerned tax offices have already been advised to take action under tax laws. The CIC estimates that more than Tk 10 billion in revenue could be collected from these car owners.
So far, investigators have traced 5,489 luxury cars across the country. Of these, information on 2,719 cars was declared in tax files. However, inconsistencies were found in the records of 148 cars, prompting further investigation.
The CIC conducted the investigation based on information collected from the BRTA over the past five tax years (up to February 2025).