HS Code 38231100
Stearic Acid
Worked example
On an assessable value of BDT 100,000, the total duty and taxes payable on 38231100 would be approximately BDT 39,750.00, because the Total Tax Incidence is 39.75% of the assessable value.
What these figures mean
Stearic Acid is classified under HS code 38231100, which sits in heading 3823 (Industrial monocarboxylic fatty acids; acid oils from refining; industrial fatty alcohols) of chapter 38 (Miscellaneous chemical products).
Under the Bangladesh Operative Tariff 2026-2027 this line attracts Customs Duty of 10%, Supplementary Duty of 0%, VAT of 15%, Advance Income Tax of 5%, Regulatory Duty of 0% and Advance Tax of 7.5%. Combined, these produce a Total Tax Incidence of 39.75%, which is the figure to multiply by the assessable value of your consignment.
The assessable value is normally the CIF value of the goods plus landing charges. Duties and taxes are applied in a defined order rather than simply added together, which is why the TTI is not the plain sum of the individual rates.
Recorded imports
Between December 2025 and May 2026, NBR recorded commercial imports under 38231100 in 6 of 6 months, totalling 504,032 kg at an assessable value of BDT 77,183,530. That is an average of BDT 153 per kilogram — useful as a rough check on whether a declared value looks plausible. In May 2026 it was the 1,386th largest of 4,066 tariff lines by assessable value.
| Month | Net weight | Assessable value | Per kg |
|---|---|---|---|
| December 2025 | 1,064 kg | BDT 850,323 | BDT 799 |
| January 2026 | 82,640 kg | BDT 15,161,195 | BDT 183 |
| February 2026 | 122,750 kg | BDT 19,075,835 | BDT 155 |
| March 2026 | 36,525 kg | BDT 7,673,081 | BDT 210 |
| April 2026 | 160,181 kg | BDT 20,914,380 | BDT 131 |
| May 2026 | 100,872 kg | BDT 13,508,716 | BDT 134 |
Bonded imports. A further 599,700 kg worth BDT 85,045,956 entered under the bonded-warehouse regime in the same period — goods brought in duty-free as inputs on the undertaking that they leave again as exports, which in Bangladesh overwhelmingly means ready-made garments. Bonded entries account for 52.4% of the total value imported under this code, the rest entering commercially.
Import figures: NBR Import Statements (IM-4 commercial, IM-7 bonded), December 2025 – May 2026. Assessable value is the customs value on which duty is charged, not the retail or invoice price.
Source: NBR Operative Tariff 2026-2027. The full schedule was reconciled against NBR's online duty calculator before publication; figures were last checked against NBR's live operative tariff search on 10 October 2026.
How this line compares
Chapter 38 contains 139 tariff lines, averaging 43.88%. At 39.75%, 38231100 sits below that average by 4.13 percentage points. It is the 41st most heavily taxed line in the chapter.
Across the whole Operative Tariff the mean is 61.08%, so this line is cheaper than the typical import by 21.33 points.
No supplementary duty applies here, which is the normal case — SD is zero on 78% of the tariff. Where it does apply it usually dominates every other component.