Prospective companies and investors seeking to take advantage of Bangladesh’s liberalized FDI caps must carefully consider their options for investment in the country and available avenues for establishing a business. Here, we outline the functions and requirements for liaison offices operating in Bangladesh.

Foreign companies can open a liaison office in Bangladesh to facilitate and promote the parent company’s business activities, and act as a communications channel between the foreign parent company and Indian companies. Liaison office unable to engage in commercial, trading, or industrial activities, must be sustained by private, inward remittances received from their foreign parent company. A liaison office is permitted to engage in the following activities:

A Liaison Office of a foreign Company can perform very limited activities, which includes: maintain liaison/ coordination between principal and local agents, distributors/exporters’ institutions through correspondences, personal contracts and other electronic media, collect, compile analyze and disseminate business information related to its field of activities as mentioned in the approval letter.

A Liaison office will have no local source of income in Bangladesh. All setup and operational costs including salaries of the expatriates and local employees of the Liaison or Representative office will have to borne by the parent company aboard.

How to set up a Liaison Office in Bangladesh

For setting up a Liaison Office must required Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (BIDA) permission. The foreign investor is required to submit application in the prescribed form along with the following documents, which must be attested by the Bangladesh Embassy/High Commission of the country of origin or Apex Chamber of Commerce of the country of origin:

1. Apply in a prescribed form, duly filled in, signed and sealed,
2. Memorandum of Association and Articles of Association of the principal Company;
3. Incorporation Certificate of the principal Company;
4. Nationalities and name of the directors/promoters of the principal Company;
5. A board resolution for opening a Liaison office in Bangladesh;
6. Last financial year’s audited accounts of the principal company;
7. Projected organogram of the office viewing the posts to be occupied by local personnel as well as expatriates;
8. List of activities on the Company letterhead of the proposed office.

For getting permission of Liaison Office a fee BDT 25,000/- will have to deposited any branch of Bangladesh Bank or Sonali Bank by treasury challan.

Liaison  Office License would be valid for a period of 3 (three) years, after which the license would have to be renewed by applying to BIDA.

A bank account must be opened in any bank in Bangladesh after getting the approval for a Liaison office. As inward remittance an amount of foreign exchange equivalent to US$ 50,000 or more must be brought in  Bangladesh within 02(two) months from the date of issuance of the BIDA permission.

After obtaining approval from BIDA, registration with the RJSC is required for Liaison office.