২২/০১/২০২২

Advocate

Supreme Court of Bangladesh

28/12/2022

Bangladesh is a booming economy. Lawyers in Bangladesh and Advocates in Bangladesh often work as retainers of the companies who wish to set up a business in Bangladesh. Some of the foreign investors are interested in opening new company registered in Bangladesh and some of the investors are not interested in opening companies in Bangladesh and wish to open Representative office in Bangladesh. Representative offices do not generate any profit on it’s own and are dependent on the parent company for all it’s expenses. The Foreign Exchange and Regulation Act 1974 (FERA) and ForEx guidelines issued by Bangladesh Bank makes it obligatory for representative offices to obtain permission to deal in forex in Bangladesh. This permission is popularly known as 18A/18B permission.

Any foreign investor should first submit their investment proposal in Board of Investment (BoI) and register with BoI. BoI approval is mandatory for obtaining work visa for foreign investors and foreign executives in those businesses. The Registrar of Joint Stock and Companies (RJSC) registers companies in Bangladesh. Once any company is registered with them it can commence operation. For tax purposes Tax Identification Number and VAT registration number is also necessary. For the businesses who wish to import or export they will also require an Import or Export license issued by Ministry of Commerce.

Any company operating in Bangladesh shall comply with Bangladesh Labour Act 2006 while formulating HR policies and regulation. In the present circumstances we feel that setting up a business in Bangladesh is a fair process and not so cumbersome.

About 40 Million Bangladeshi citizens live abroad in foreign countries. Besides many more thousands have become citizens of different countries of the world namely USA, UK, Canada, Australia etc. Most of the Bangladeshi citizens living abroad (Non Resident Bangladeshis or NRBs) and foreign citizens of Bangladeshi origin or people having dual nationality i.e. being a Bangladeshi by birth and having a foreign Nationality as well have married in Bangladesh under the laws of Bangladesh. Having done so when they face family crisis and when the crisis reach the boiling point of executing a Divorce a dilemma is faced by the NRBs. The major questions that arise are:-

(I) Where should I apply for divorce?

(ii) Which country’s law isa applicable for me?

(iii) Can I serve a Divorce notice from abroad in Bangladesh?

(iv) Will my divorce under the laws of Bangladesh be recognized in the foreign country where I reside now?

These are a very few of the many questions that arise in the mind of the NRBs and also in the mind of the lawyers who work for them. Unfortunately the existing family laws of Bangladesh do not provide any clear answer to those questions. Actually the existing family laws of the land do not contain any guidance on the family law related disputes faced by Bangladeshi citizens living abroad. Although we lawyers have way out for the NRBs facing such problems but it is high time that the legislators take the matter into notice and relevant amendment to the family law needs to be made to address the above lacuna in law.