Wealth Statement (IT-10B) in Bangladesh: Who Must File It, How to Fill It Without Triggering an Audit

In this guide: Who must file IT-10B and IT-10BB · How to value what you own · Loans, gifts and the reconciliation · Mismatch, processing and audit — what actually happens

The short answer

Section 167 requires an individual to file a statement of assets and liabilities (form IT-10B) with the return if, at the end of the income year, gross assets exceed Tk 40 lakh, or at any time in the year the person owned a motor vehicle, invested in a house or flat in a city corporation, held any asset outside Bangladesh, or was a shareholder-director of a company. Government employees file one regardless. The statement lists everything you own and owe at cost on 30 June 2026, and NBR reads it alongside last year’s: the difference must be explained by the income you declared less the expenses in your lifestyle statement. If it is not, the return is flagged.

Who must file IT-10B and IT-10BB

A resident Bangladeshi shows assets inside and outside Bangladesh; a non-resident or a foreigner shows Bangladesh assets only. The statement must include the assets of a spouse and minor children who do not have their own TIN. Anyone may file the statements voluntarily, and we usually advise it: a continuous asset history is the best defence when a notice arrives years later. The Deputy Commissioner may also demand either statement for any year by notice; from 2026-27 a return filed without a demanded statement is treated as incomplete, and an incomplete return can be declared void (s.176).

The threshold is gross assets, not income; a report that it was raised to Tk 50 lakh is not borne out by the statute text we have read.

How to value what you own

The statement is at cost, not market value. That rule, consistently applied, is what makes the year-to-year reconciliation possible.

Liabilities — mortgage, car loan, personal loans, dues — reduce gross assets to net wealth, which is also the base for the surcharge on net wealth above Tk 4 crore described in our rates guide.

Loans, gifts and the reconciliation

The arithmetic NBR’s system runs is simple: opening net wealth + income declared + exempt income and gifts received − expenses declared = closing net wealth. Anything that makes the equation fail is “unexplained”.

Loans. A loan you took is a liability and explains a jump in assets; a loan you gave is an asset and must be matched by a fall in cash. Either way, name the counterparty and keep the agreement; unsupported loans from friends are the first thing an audit team asks about.

Gifts. Gifts from a spouse, parents or children are exempt and need no bank transfer. A gift from anyone else above Tk 5 lakh is taxable as income from other sources unless received by crossed cheque or bank transfer. Gifts from abroad to parents must arrive through the banking channel. Show the gift as a receipt in the year, with the donor’s name; the Gift Tax Act 1990 separately applies to the donor, with relatives exempt.

Inherited assets. Show them in the year of inheritance at the deceased’s book value, with the succession or warish certificate on file. A client who omitted forty bighas of agricultural land for years because “it was always there” had to explain it the year he sold some.

Mismatch, processing and audit — what actually happens

Processing (s.181). The return is processed automatically. Arithmetical errors and incorrect claims apparent on the face of the return produce a notice of difference with a computation; you may explain, or file a revised return and pay. A demand notice follows within six months if you do neither.

Audit selection (s.182). The Board selects returns for audit under its own method — since 2024 an automated, risk-based selection rather than manual picking. A return cannot be selected within 60 days of filing, the officer must notify you within seven working days of the audit team being appointed, the inquiry takes 60 days (extendable by 60), the report is due within 300 days, and the whole process must finish within 24 months. The statute’s safe harbour: a return showing income at least 15% higher than the previous year, from the same sources, with no refund claim and the withholding obligations met, is not selectable. On refunds, the Finance Act 2026 sets the clock: the Deputy Commissioner processes the return within 120 days of filing, and a refund is paid electronically within 60 days of the refund application; the automated refund covers only filers whose income is from salary, financial assets and agriculture. Two IT-10B traps added in 2026: a loan, advance or deposit above Tk 5 lakh received outside banking channels (or through a bank but unpaid for six years) is taxed as income from other sources, while a loan from a close relative later waived or converted into a gift is exempt if it was shown in both parties’ returns. The published risk flags are the obvious ones — mismatch with bank, land-registry and card data, lifestyle beyond declared income, unexplained growth in wealth, unsupported loans or cash, inflated rebates.

Correcting a mistake. A self-assessment return may be revised once, within 180 days of filing and before it is selected for audit, on payment of the shortfall with simple interest at 5% a month (s.180). After an audit report you may be invited to file a revised return under s.182(10). A revised return cannot reduce the liability shown in the original (s.175). Our notice and audit guide covers what to do when the letter arrives.