The UK and Bangladesh in brief

The United Kingdom is one of Bangladesh's closest partners for trade, investment and family ties. Provisional Export Promotion Bureau data for 2025-26 ranked the UK third among Bangladesh's export markets, after the United States and Germany.

Bangladesh Bank figures reported by the Dhaka Tribune show USD 5.07 billion of remittances from the UK in 2025-26, and the UK was among the five largest sources of net foreign direct investment in 2025.

The 2021 Census recorded 644,900 people of Bangladeshi ethnicity in England and Wales, 1.1 per cent of the population. Many own land, inherit property or run family businesses in Bangladesh, so property, succession and power of attorney questions are as common on this desk as commercial ones.

The UK has said that Bangladesh's access under its Developing Countries Trading Scheme will continue for three years after Bangladesh leaves the least developed country (LDC) category. Bangladesh then moves to the Enhanced Preferences tier; the UK has said garment access will remain unchanged, and its revised rules of origin drop the double-transformation requirement.

Graduation is scheduled for 24 November 2026; a request to defer it to 2029 still awaited a UN General Assembly decision on 20 October 2026.

Investing from the UK: treaty protection and money flows

The Bangladesh–United Kingdom bilateral investment treaty was signed on 19 June 1980 and entered into force the same day, according to UNCTAD's database. It is the oldest of the 25 investment treaties Bangladesh has in force. Whether it protects a given investor depends on its definitions of investor and investment and on its dispute clause, so test your holding structure against the text before committing money.

Restructuring after a dispute arises rarely works.

Bangladesh's Foreign Private Investment (Promotion and Protection) Act 1980 promises fair treatment, compensation for expropriation and transfer of capital and returns, but gives no consent to international arbitration. Bangladesh is a party to the ICSID Convention, so an investor-state claim needs a treaty in force or an ICSID clause in a contract.

The Invest Bangladesh Act 2026 (Act No. 104 of 2026), in force from 20 August 2026, merged BIDA, BEZA and the PPP Authority into Invest Bangladesh; industrial projects register under section 28. Authorised dealer banks remit dividends to non-resident shareholders without prior Bangladesh Bank approval.

FEID Circular No. 01 of 8 March 2026 lets share-sale proceeds leave without approval in set cases, but real estate and liquidation proceeds still need approval.

Tax: the 1979 double taxation convention

The Bangladesh–UK convention for the avoidance of double taxation was signed in Dhaka on 8 August 1979 and is on the National Board of Revenue's list of agreements.

Under its text, Bangladesh tax on dividends paid to a UK resident beneficial owner is capped at 10 per cent where the owner is a company controlling at least 10 per cent of the voting power, and at 15 per cent in other cases.

Interest is capped at 7.5 per cent where a UK bank or other financial institution, including an insurance company, receives it, and at 10 per cent otherwise. Royalties are capped at 10 per cent. The caps apply only where the recipient meets the treaty's conditions, including being subject to UK tax on the interest.

Relief is not automatic. A Bangladeshi payer withholds at the domestic rate under section 119 of the Income Tax Act 2023 unless the NBR issues a certificate under section 119(2) for the treaty rate, so apply before the first payment. Check the current domestic rates in the Finance Act 2026, and take UK advice on credit for Bangladeshi tax.

Contracts and arbitration

The United Kingdom and Bangladesh are both parties to the 1958 New York Convention, which has been in force for Bangladesh since 4 August 1992 without reservations. An award made in the United Kingdom is a foreign award in Bangladesh.

It is enforced under section 45 of the Arbitration Act 2001 on an application to the District Judge's court in Dhaka, wherever the assets are, with the authenticated award, the arbitration agreement and certified translations (s.45(2)-(3)).

Enforcement can be refused only on the section 46 grounds, which follow Article V of the Convention. In July 2026 the High Court Division confirmed that the enforcing court cannot review the merits, and in February 2026 it held that the application must be filed within three years of the award (Limitation Act 1908, article 182).

Since the Commercial Courts Act 2026, arbitration applications go to a commercial court where one has been set up, so check which court applies.

A UK seat such as London has one cost at home. Under the Larger Bench decision in Accom, a Bangladeshi court cannot grant interim relief under section 7A while a foreign-seated arbitration is running; relief comes only at enforcement. Where the Bangladeshi party's assets are the real target, consider a Dhaka seat, emergency arbitration, or security such as a bank guarantee before the dispute starts.

Enforcing UK court judgments

A money judgment from the United Kingdom is not directly enforceable in Bangladesh. Section 44A of the Code of Civil Procedure 1908 allows direct execution only of money decrees from the superior courts of a reciprocating territory notified in the Gazette, and no notification covering the United Kingdom has been confirmed.

The usual route is a fresh suit in Bangladesh on the judgment, brought within six years (Limitation Act 1908, article 117).

The UK has no special status. Section 44A once named the United Kingdom expressly, but Act XL of 2003 removed that reference, so the UK now qualifies only if notified like any other country. Enforcing a Bangladeshi judgment in the UK is a question of the law of the relevant UK jurisdiction, so take local advice there.

In that suit the foreign judgment is conclusive on matters it directly decided between the same parties, unless a section 13 exception applies: the court lacked jurisdiction, the judgment was not on the merits, it rested on an incorrect view of international law or refused to recognise Bangladeshi law where applicable, the proceedings breached natural justice, it was obtained by fraud, or it upholds a claim founded on a breach of Bangladeshi law.

A certified copy raises a presumption of jurisdiction (s.14).

Where the defendant's assets are in Bangladesh, suing here from the start, or agreeing arbitration, is often quicker than winning abroad and suing again. Commercial disputes listed in section 2 of the Commercial Courts Act 2026 go to the commercial courts.

Each party may ask for time at most three times before the final hearing (s.9(5)), and an appeal to the High Court Division lies only against the final judgment, within 60 days (s.6).

Documents and powers of attorney from the UK

The UK has been a party to the Apostille Convention since 1965 and did not object to Bangladesh's accession. Since 30 March 2025, UK public documents such as birth, marriage and death certificates and notarised documents need only an apostille from the FCDO Legalisation Office for use in Bangladesh, plus a translation where needed. Acceptance by Bangladeshi offices is still uneven, so ask the receiving office first.

For a power of attorney over land, a bank account or a court case, sign at the Bangladesh mission. Birmingham covers the Midlands and South Wales, Manchester covers northern England, North Wales and Scotland, and London covers other areas.

Bring two unsigned sets in the prescribed form, proof of Bangladeshi nationality or a British passport with a No Visa Required endorsement, UK proof of address, the attorney's NID and the land records.

Birmingham and Manchester say the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Dhaka must attest the power within two months of signing, earlier than the Rules require, so post it home at once. Fees in October 2026 were about £41 (regular) or £64 (express) for up to five pages; check the current schedule. A UK notarised and apostilled power is legally recognised, but MoFA acceptance without mission attestation is untested.

A power signed abroad follows Form 3 of the Power of Attorney Rules 2015 and must be sent to Bangladesh within six months of attestation (rule 10(4ka), from February 2025). After arrival, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Dhaka must attest it within two months and the Collector must stamp it within three (rule 10(5); Stamp Act 1899, s.18).

An irrevocable power to sell, mortgage or develop land must be registered (Power of Attorney Act 2012, s.6(1)); rule 10(5)(ga) allows four months from arrival to file it.

Family, property and inheritance

British Bangladeshis who remain Bangladeshi citizens buy, inherit and sell land in Bangladesh as residents do, usually through a relative or agent holding a power of attorney. Before any purchase, check the record of rights (khatian) in each survey series, mutation into the seller's name, land development tax receipts, the chain of registered deeds and any pending suits.

A sale takes effect only by a deed registered under the Registration Act 1908.

On a death, banks and companies usually ask for a succession certificate before releasing deposits, shares or other debts, and land passes under the personal law of the deceased. Co-owners who cannot agree can bring a partition suit. If someone occupies family land without right, the remedies are a suit for recovery of possession or an injunction, and sometimes a criminal complaint.

Act early: limitation periods and delay can weaken a claim.