What duty does base oil pay into Bangladesh?

Base oil imported in bulk by an industrial IRC holder that is a VAT-compliant petroleum products processing or lube blending industry enters on line 2710.19.21 at 5% customs duty, assessed against a minimum value of USD 1,200 per tonne under SRO 202 of 2024. Supplementary duty, regulatory duty, VAT, advance income tax and advance tax are charged on top and are confirmed for the line against the operative tariff in force; The Daily Star reported the total at 38% for blenders, against 49% on finished lubricants.

How big is the Bangladeshi lubricant market?

The Daily Star put lubricating oil sales at an estimated 177,000 t in 2024, about 160,000 t five years earlier. The Bangladesh Lube Blenders Association counted 23 blending plants in April 2026 with more than 0.20 million tonnes a year of capacity against demand of about 0.15 million tonnes, and Bangladesh has no base oil plant of its own, so the blenders run on imported stock.

Bulk parcel or flexitank into Chattogram?

Both can be worked. Larger blenders take bulk parcels on chemical and product tankers; a 24,000-litre flexitank in a 20 ft container holds about 21 t of SN150 at a density of 0.875, so an order of 20 t per grade is one container per grade. Because the 5% line is written for base oil in bulk, the clearing agent confirms how a flexitank lot will be declared before shipment.

Indian Ocean · Bangladesh

Base Oil CFR Chattogram, Bangladesh: SN150, SN500 and Group II for Lube Blenders

Bangladesh has no base oil plant, 23 blending plants and a lubricant market of about 177,000 tonnes

Bangladesh's lubricant blenders work from imported base oil. The Daily Star put lubricating oil sales at an estimated 177,000 t in 2024, about 160,000 t five years earlier, from around 200 selling firms, with 16 to 17 companies blending base oil with additives; in April 2026 the Bangladesh Lube Blenders Association counted 23 blending plants with a combined capacity of more than 0.20 million tonnes a year against domestic demand of about 0.15 million tonnes. The tariff is written around those plants. The Bangladesh Customs Tariff splits base oil three ways: 2710.19.21, base oil imported in bulk by an industrial IRC holder that is a VAT-compliant petroleum products processing or lube blending industry, at 5% customs duty; 2710.19.22, recycled lube base oil; and 2710.19.29, other base oil, which the NBR's import gateway marks as importable only by Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation under Article 25(16)(ka) of the Import Policy Order 2021-2024. Finished lubricating oil on 2710.19.31 pays 15% customs duty, cut from 25% in FY17, and the blenders' association asked in April 2026 for it to go back to 25%. Customs assesses the bulk base-oil line against a minimum value of USD 1,200 per tonne (SRO 202 of 2024). The Daily Star reported total import duty of 38% for blenders importing base oil against 49% for importers of finished lubricants. Bangladesh has not reported its 2024 or 2025 imports to UN Comtrade, and the exporters' declarations to it under HS 2710.19 are mostly diesel and fuel oil, so the base-oil tonnage cannot be read from trade statistics.

CBIL is a commodity brokerage company and brokers Group I SN150 and SN500, and Group II N150 and N500 where the formulation needs them, CFR Chattogram for Bangladeshi blenders, in bulk parcels on chemical and product tankers or in 20 ft flexitanks for container lots, where one 24,000-litre flexitank holds about 21 t of SN150. Every lot ships against the producing refinery's COA and a certificate of origin naming the refinery, with SGS or Intertek inspection at load. Because the 5% line is limited to base oil in bulk for an IRC-holding, VAT-compliant blender and other base oil is reserved to BPC, the importer of record, its IRC and the way the packing will be declared are settled before a price; recycled base oil has its own line and is not what we broker. Supplementary duty, regulatory duty, VAT, advance income tax and advance tax are charged on top of customs duty and are confirmed against the current operative tariff for the line with the importer's clearing agent. Send the grade and group, the quantity, bulk or flexitank, the importer of record and its IRC, the delivery month and the payment terms, and the enquiry is screened and worked against them.

Also on this lane: Group II base oil · SN150 base oil · SN500 base oil

Need the ship as well? Our chartering desk prices product and chemical tanker freight on LaycanDesk.

The market in figures

Lubricant market (The Daily Star): About 177,000 t sold in 2024 (about 160,000 t five years earlier) · 16–17 blending companies
Blending plants (BLBA, April 2026): 23 plants · capacity above 0.20 Mt/yr · demand about 0.15 Mt/yr
Base oil tariff lines: 2710.19.21 bulk, industrial IRC holder, VAT-compliant blender: CD 5% · 2710.19.22 recycled base oil · 2710.19.29 other: BPC only
Minimum value, 2710.19.21: USD 1,200 per tonne (SRO 202 of 2024)
Finished lubricants: 2710.19.31 CD 15% (25% before FY17) · blenders ask for 25% · total duty reported at 49% against 38% on base oil
Packing: Bulk parcels on chemical and product tankers · 20 ft flexitank of 24,000 L, about 21 t of SN150

Landed values are the importing country's declared CIF, not CBIL prices.

Questions buyers ask

What duty does base oil pay into Bangladesh?: Base oil imported in bulk by an industrial IRC holder that is a VAT-compliant petroleum products processing or lube blending industry enters on line 2710.19.21 at 5% customs duty, assessed against a minimum value of USD 1,200 per tonne under SRO 202 of 2024. Supplementary duty, regulatory duty, VAT, advance income tax and advance tax are charged on top and are confirmed for the line against the operative tariff in force; The Daily Star reported the total at 38% for blenders, against 49% on finished lubricants.
Who may import base oil into Bangladesh?: The private route is the bulk line: 2710.19.21 is limited to industrial IRC holders that are VAT-compliant processing or blending industries. The NBR's import gateway marks other base oil (2710.19.29) as importable only by Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation, under Article 25(16)(ka) of the Import Policy Order 2021-2024, and recycled lube base oil has its own line, 2710.19.22. The importer of record, its IRC and how the packing will be declared are settled before any offer.
How big is the Bangladeshi lubricant market?: The Daily Star put lubricating oil sales at an estimated 177,000 t in 2024, about 160,000 t five years earlier. The Bangladesh Lube Blenders Association counted 23 blending plants in April 2026 with more than 0.20 million tonnes a year of capacity against demand of about 0.15 million tonnes, and Bangladesh has no base oil plant of its own, so the blenders run on imported stock.
Bulk parcel or flexitank into Chattogram?: Both can be worked. Larger blenders take bulk parcels on chemical and product tankers; a 24,000-litre flexitank in a 20 ft container holds about 21 t of SN150 at a density of 0.875, so an order of 20 t per grade is one container per grade. Because the 5% line is written for base oil in bulk, the clearing agent confirms how a flexitank lot will be declared before shipment.