Includes steps involved in establishing a local office.
Last Published: 12/10/2018

In Bangladesh, a liaison office acts as a channel of communication between the principal place of business or head office overseas and entities within Bangladesh.  A liaison office cannot undertake any commercial activity directly or indirectly and cannot, therefore, earn any income in Bangladesh.  Its role is limited to collecting information about possible market opportunities and providing information about the company and its products to prospective Bangladeshi customers.  It can promote trade with Bangladesh and also facilitate technical/financial collaboration between the parent company and local companies.

Approval for establishing a liaison office in Bangladesh is granted by the Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (BIDA) and the Bangladesh Bank (BB).

To learn more about the procedures for establishing a business in Bangladesh, please visit website.

Foreign companies engaged in manufacturing and trading activities abroad are allowed to set up Branch Offices in Bangladesh for the following purposes:

  • Export and import of goods;

  • Providing professional or consultancy services;

  • Carrying out research work in which the parent company is engaged;

  • Promoting technical or financial collaboration between Bangladeshi companies and the parent or overseas group company;

  • Representing the parent company in Bangladesh and acting as buying or selling agents;

  • Providing services in Information Technology and development of software in Bangladesh;

  • Providing technical support for the products supplied by the parent or group companies;

  • Foreign airlines, shipping companies, and foreign consultancy firms (educational/professional institutions).

A branch office is not allowed to carry out manufacturing activities on its own, but it is permitted to subcontract these to a Bangladeshi manufacturer.  Branch offices established with the approval of BIDA/BB may remit outside profits of the branch, net of applicable taxes and subject to BIDA/BB guidelines.  Permission for setting up branch offices is granted by BOI and the BB.  If a company is interested in opening a branch, liaison, or representative office in Bangladesh, it should carefully follow the guidelines and procedures mentioned in the relevant forms.  Please visit this link for more information.

Foreign companies/principals may not need to register/incorporate their businesses locally and can operate through their local partners/agents.  A local agent may be authorized to service industrial consumers, to bid on government tenders, or to place orders or book indent orders.  U.S. companies may use their local partner’s Import Registration Certificate (IRC) to import goods into Bangladesh.  Local partners obtain their Import Registration Certificate and Export Registration Certificate (ERC) from Office of the Chief Controller of Imports & Exports (CCI&E). The local partner will act as the foreign principal’s on-the-ground agent to perform various business activities such as creating awareness and marketing their principal’s products in Bangladesh, identifying and establishing a client base, and allocating space for a showroom to display products.

** Please note: foreign branch, liaison, or representative offices usually have Commercial Trade IRCs (they use the IRCs to both export and import goods).

Prepared by our U.S. Embassies abroad. With its network of 108 offices across the United States and in more than 75 countries, the U.S. Commercial Service of the U.S. Department of Commerce utilizes its global presence and international marketing expertise to help U.S. companies sell their products and services worldwide. Locate the U.S. Commercial Service trade specialist in the U.S. nearest you by visiting http://export.gov/usoffices.