NBR launches ‘a-Chalan’ for real-time online tax payments

The National Board of Revenue (NBR), in collaboration with the Finance Division, has launched the ‘a-chalan’ system, allowing customs duties and taxes to be paid online and deposited directly into the government treasury in real-time.

This new digital platform allows importers, exporters, and C&F agents to pay taxes and duties related to import and export activities online, marking a significant step towards automation at the beginning of the new fiscal year, according to a press release on Saturday.

This initiative integrates NBR’s Asycuda World system with the Finance Division’s iBAS++ platform, enabling taxpayers to deposit dues directly from their bank accounts—either online or offline—into the government treasury.

This new system replaces the earlier Real-Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) method, which often caused delays as payments took several days to appear in the treasury.

With a-chalan, taxpayers can now pay duties and taxes anytime, 24/7, from anywhere and instantly receive a system-generated receipt number, enabling faster clearance of goods from ports.

According to the press release, the system was officially rolled out at Chattogram Custom House on July 3, 2025, following successful training of customs officials, C&F agents, and traders on July 1–2.

On the launch day, over Tk 13 crore in customs duties was instantly deposited to the treasury against 75 bill entries through scheduled banks, including Sonali Bank.

The a-chalan system supports multiple payment modes, including internet banking, debit/credit cards, and mobile financial services (such as bKash, Rocket, Nagad, Upay, Mcash, and TrustPay).

Besides, duty payments can be made through account debits or cheque clearing at any of the 11,700 branches of 61 scheduled banks.

The system was initially piloted at ICD Kamalapur Customs House on April 23, 2025, and later implemented at Pangaon Customs House.

Chattogram is the third customs station to adopt the system. Starting July 7, 2025, Dhaka Customs House and all other customs houses nationwide will also begin accepting duty payments directly through a-chalan.