Importing laptops and computers: 9.5%, and the traps around it
A laptop and a desktop computer attract the same total tax in Bangladesh: 9.5%. A monitor to plug into either one can attract 33.63%. A hard disk sits between them at 17.88%. All three sit inside heading 8471, and the difference is decided entirely by which eight-digit line the goods are classified under.
This guide sets out the whole of heading 8471 as it stands in the Operative Tariff 2026-2027, because the spread inside it is wide enough to change a purchasing decision.
The complete picture
| Code | Goods | CD | VAT | AIT | TTI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 84713000 | Laptops and portable machines up to 10 kg | 0% | 0% | 2% | 9.5% |
| 84714100 | Non-portable machines with CPU, input and output together | 0% | 0% | 2% | 9.5% |
| 84714910 | Personal desktop computer | 0% | 0% | 2% | 9.5% |
| 84714990 | Other systems | 5% | 0% | 5% | 17.88% |
| 84715010 | Processing unit for a personal desktop computer | 0% | 0% | 2% | 9.5% |
| 84715090 | Other processing units | 5% | 0% | 5% | 17.88% |
| 84716010 | Input/output units — the VAT-bearing line | 5% | 15% | 5% | 33.63% |
| 84716090 | Input/output units — other | 5% | 0% | 5% | 17.88% |
| 84717000 | Storage units | 5% | 0% | 5% | 17.88% |
| 84718000 | Other units | 5% | 0% | 5% | 17.88% |
| 84719000 | Magnetic and optical readers | 5% | 0% | 5% | 17.88% |
Three observations follow from that table, and each one is worth money.
1. Complete computers are protected; parts are not
Every line that describes a finished computer — the laptop, the complete non-portable system, the personal desktop, the processing unit for a personal desktop — carries zero customs duty, zero VAT and AIT of 2%. The total is 9.5%, and the whole of it is the advance tax of 7.5% plus that 2% AIT.
Only 20 lines in the entire 7,469-line tariff reach a total as low as 9.5%. Against a tariff whose mean is 61.08%, a finished computer is one of the most lightly taxed things you can bring into Bangladesh. That is deliberate policy, and it has been stable for years.
Step outside those lines and the rate roughly doubles. Storage units, other units, readers and anything falling into an "Other" line carry 5% customs duty and 5% AIT, totalling 17.88%.
2. The monitor trap
Two lines share one description — "Adp Input/Output Units Whether/Not Containg. Storage Units In Same Housing" — and differ by 15.75 percentage points:
| Code | CD | VAT | AIT | AT | TTI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 84716010 | 5% | 15% | 5% | 7.5% | 33.63% |
| 84716090 | 5% | 0% | 5% | 7.5% | 17.88% |
The customs duty is identical. The entire difference is VAT at 15% on one line and nothing on the other. Because VAT sits on the value after customs duty has been added, 15% of VAT produces nearly 16 points of extra incidence.
If you import keyboards, mice, monitors or printers, which of these two lines your goods fall under is the single most consequential question in the transaction. It is also exactly the sort of distinction that gets settled at the assessment desk rather than on paper, so take the question to your C&F agent before the goods arrive, not after.
3. The sub-divided codes caught us out, and may catch you out too
Until recently this site published 17.88% for all desktop computers. That was wrong, and the error is instructive.
The printed Operative Tariff carries two parent codes, 84714900
and 84715000, both at 17.88%. NBR's live operative tariff system
carries neither. It has subdivided each into two children:
84714910Personal Desktop Computer — 9.5%84714990Other — 17.88%84715010Processing Unit for Personal Desktop Computer — 9.5%84715090Other — 17.88%
An importer using the printed book alone would declare a desktop computer at almost double the operative rate. We now publish the four subdivided codes and keep the two parents as superseded pages, because importers still hold the old codes on existing paperwork.
The wider lesson matters more than these four codes: the printed tariff and NBR's online system do not always agree. Where we have been able to test the disagreements, the online system has been right every time. If a code looks unexpectedly expensive, check it against NBR's live search before you accept it.
What 9.5% actually means on an invoice
On a laptop with an assessable value of BDT 100,000:
| Component | Rate | Amount (BDT) |
|---|---|---|
| Customs duty | 0% | 0 |
| Regulatory duty | 0% | 0 |
| Supplementary duty | 0% | 0 |
| VAT | 0% | 0 |
| Advance tax | 7.5% | 7,500 |
| AIT | 2% | 2,000 |
| Total | 9.5% | 9,500 |
Note what the total is made of. There is no duty here at all — the 9,500 is advance tax and advance income tax, both of which a registered business may be able to recover or adjust. A trader who can set those off is importing a computer at something close to nil net tax. A private individual cannot, and pays the full 9,500. See which import taxes are recoverable for the distinction.
Practical advice
- Classify the finished machine precisely. The gap between 9.5% and 17.88% is decided by whether your goods match a specific line or fall into an "Other" line. Vague invoice wording pushes you towards "Other", and "Other" is the expensive side.
- Describe peripherals carefully. The 84716010 versus 84716090 split is worth 15.75 points.
- Check the code against NBR's live system if the figure surprises you. Every one of our tariff pages links to it.
- Do not assume parts follow the machine. Chapter 84 averages 35.59% overall; computers are an unusually protected island inside it, and the protection does not extend to everything in the box.
Rates change with each June budget. Before committing to a purchase, confirm the current figure on the relevant tariff line and ask your C&F agent how the goods will be classified in practice.