The leaders of the Real Estate and Housing Association of Bangladesh (REHAB) have demanded that the flat registration cost be reduced from 15.5% to 9%. Additionally, they have called for lowering the registration cost of old flats to 4.5% to establish a secondary market for buying and selling pre-owned flats. REHAB President Md. Wahiduzzaman presented these demands during the pre-budget discussion for the fiscal year 2025-26. It held at the National Board of Revenue (NBR) on Tuesday. The discussion was chaired by NBR Chairman Abdur Rahman Khan.
Currently, the flat registration cost ranges from 15.5% to 18%, depending on the size of the flat. This includes an 8% gain tax, 1.5% stamp duty, 1% registration fee, 3% local government fee, and VAT of 2% for flats up to 1,600 square feet, while flats above this size are subject to 4.5% VAT. REHAB leaders have proposed reducing the flat registration cost to 9%, which would include a 4% gain tax, 1% stamp duty, 1% registration fee, 1% local government fee, and a uniform 2% VAT for all types of flats.
Source: Mahmudullah decline of BCB central contract 2025
Additionally, REHAB has demanded that the registration cost for old flats be reduced to 4.5%. The organization’s leaders stated that lowering the rates for registration fees, stamp duty, and gain tax would help establish a secondary market. This would enable multiple transactions of the same property, ultimately increasing government revenue. REHAB has also proposed raising the cash transaction limit for real estate companies from 36 lakh to 1 crore taka. Currently, if transactions exceeding 5 lakh taka and annual transactions above 36 lakh taka are conducted through banks, the corporate tax rate is reduced from 27.5% to 25%. However, due to challenges in complying with this regulation, most real estate companies cannot avail of this tax benefit.
Source: Prothom Alo
