Almost nine out of 10 SMEs in Bangladesh admit that corruption is widespread in the SME sector across the country and that most small business owners have had to pay bribes to acquire essential services related to business. It has been revealed by a survey conducted on 800 SMEs by the Centre for Governance Studies and the Centre for International Business Enterprise. The survey found that bribes had to be paid while obtaining and renewing trade licenses, acquiring Tax Identification Numbers and Value Added Tax certificates and using public utilities. It added that restrictive government regulations and non-enforcement of anti-corruption rules are some reasons for pervasive corruption.
