TIN Certificate in Bangladesh: How to Get, Download, Check, Correct and Cancel a TIN (2026)

In this guide: Who must register for a TIN · How to register: e-TIN step by step · Download, check and correct a TIN · What a TIN does — and does not — oblige you to do · How to cancel a TIN (s.262)

The short answer

You need a TIN if you are a taxpayer, if you must file a return, or if you need a proof of submission of return (PSR) — for a loan above Tk 20 lakh, a trade licence, a land or flat registration, a car, a professional membership and the rest of the s.264 list. Registration is online with your NID and a mobile number registered to that NID; the certificate is generated immediately. The TIN does not tax you. What taxes you is income above the tax-free limit, and what obliges you to file is s.166 — most often because you were assessed in one of the last three years or need a PSR this year. If you later need neither, s.262 lets you cancel the TIN rather than leave it dormant.

Who must register for a TIN

Section 261(1) of the Income Tax Act 2023 names four groups: (a) a taxpayer; (b) a person required to file a return under s.166; (c) a person who must show a PSR under s.264; and (d) anyone who wishes to pay tax or file a return. Group (c) is the one that brings most people in. The full forty-item list is in our zero return guide; the twelve transactions that need only a TIN certificate (not a PSR) include a new trade licence, a credit card, a post-office savings account above Tk 5 lakh, first-time membership of a professional body, a motorcycle of 150cc or more, and a company in its year of incorporation.

If an eligible person fails to register, the tax authority may register them and issue a TIN itself (s.261(4)). Withholding entities — employers, companies and others who deduct tax at source — must additionally hold a Withholder Identification Number (WIN) under s.263, which serves as their TIN for withholding purposes.

Two things a TIN is not required for: opening an ordinary bank account (the 2026 proposal was withdrawn in Parliament) and registering a mutation (namjari) of land (likewise withdrawn).

How to register: e-TIN step by step

1. Have the right SIM. Registration and every later OTP go to a mobile number registered biometrically against your own NID. Dial *16001# and enter the last four digits of your NID to see which numbers qualify. Using a family member’s SIM is the single commonest cause of a failed registration.
2. Open the NBR e-TIN registration page (linked from nbr.gov.bd) and create a user account with your mobile number; verify with the OTP.
3. Choose your category — individual Bangladeshi with NID, individual without NID (minor or foreigner — passport is used), company, partnership and so on — and the purpose of registration.
4. Enter your NID number and date of birth. The system pulls your name, parents’ names and address from the Election Commission database; if it shows “already exists for this NID”, a TIN has already been issued against that NID (see the next section).
5. Give your contact and income details — present address, employer or business, and the source of income — which determine your tax circle and zone.
6. Submit. The 12-digit TIN and the certificate (PDF) are generated at once. Download and keep the login; the same TIN is used to register on the e-Return portal when you file.

Foreign nationals register with their passport instead of an NID; companies register with their incorporation certificate and the directors’ TINs. There is no fee at any stage; anyone charging for “TIN processing” is charging for typing.

Download, check and correct a TIN

Download. Log in to the e-TIN system with the mobile number and password you set, open “View TIN certificate” and print or save the PDF. A TIN certificate has no expiry.

Check. A TIN is verified by logging in, or by the office that asked for it through NBR’s system; there is no public search by name, and a certificate presented to a bank or registry is checked against NBR’s records, so a doctored PDF is both pointless and an offence.

Forgotten password or lost login. The portal resets the password by OTP to the registered mobile. If that number is gone, the circle office can re-link the TIN to a new NID-registered number on application.

Correcting a name, address or spelling. Personal details come from the NID; correct the NID first, then apply to your circle to update the TIN record. A change of address that moves you to another circle is also done on application; we recommend doing it before filing, so the return lands in the right circle.

“TIN already exists for this NID.” One NID can carry only one TIN. Usually an earlier TIN was taken years ago — for a job, a bank form or a car — and forgotten. Recover it through the portal’s “forgot TIN” route with your NID, or through the circle. A genuinely duplicate or erroneous registration is a ground for cancelling the extra one under s.262(1)(d).

What a TIN does — and does not — oblige you to do

This is where most anxiety comes from, so we will be precise. A TIN is an identifier; it creates no liability to tax. Tax is payable only on income above the tax-free limit (Tk 4,00,000 for most individuals in tax year 2026-27 — see our rates guide). The duty to file a return comes from s.166, which catches you if you had taxable income, were assessed or taxable in any of the three preceding years, are a company director, partner, government employee or managerial employee, or need a PSR this year.

So a person who takes a TIN for a one-off purpose and then has no income and no s.264 need is not legally obliged to file. Our advice is still to file a nil return, for three reasons: the “three preceding years” rule means that once you have filed, stopping creates a gap; a nil return has no minimum tax; and the PSR it produces is what you will be asked for the next time you borrow, register or renew. Minimum tax — Tk 5,000 for individuals from this year, Tk 1,000 for a first-time taxpayer — applies only when income exceeds the threshold.

How to cancel a TIN (s.262)

Section 262(1) lists the grounds. The one most people rely on is (a): you no longer need a PSR for any s.264 purpose, and either you are no longer a “taxpayer”, or you have had no taxable income for three consecutive years and expect none (for example through physical incapacity), or you are no longer required to file under s.166. Other grounds: death, liquidation or dissolution (b); permanently leaving Bangladesh with no income arising here (c); duplicate or erroneous registration (d); a change of legal status (e); and any other lawful reason (f).

Under s.262(2) the Deputy Commissioner may approve only if no tax is outstanding, no assessment is pending, no dispute is pending in any forum, and the reason given is true. Apply in writing to the Deputy Commissioner of Taxes of your circle with the ground, the supporting facts (returns for the three nil years, proof of departure, the duplicate TIN numbers) and a request for cancellation; the officer may inspect and hear you before deciding. Heirs of a deceased taxpayer may keep the TIN running until the estate is settled, or apply to cancel it.

A cancelled TIN is deactivated, not erased: it cannot be used for any public purpose, but NBR keeps the record (s.262(4)–(5)). Note also s.262(3): NBR may itself cancel a TIN that has no real or legitimate source of income, that was obtained for money laundering or other financial crime, or that was registered on false information. If you have a dormant TIN you still need, the answer is a nil return, not neglect.