GUOZUN CATHAY ASSOCIATES Bangladesh Office was officially established in February 2024 in the Gulshan International Business District, Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh. The office has built a full-time team comprising Chinese foreign-related lawyers, lawyers admitted to practice before the Supreme Court of Bangladesh, and South Asian cross-border legal experts. All core members have over 5 years of experience in two-way legal services between China and Bangladesh. Closely aligned with Bangladesh’s industrialization development strategy and focused on the core operational scenarios of Chinese-funded enterprises in Bangladesh, the team provides clients with full-cycle localized legal support from foreign investment landing compliance to cross-border dispute resolution.
This document sets forth the official unified fee schedule of GUOZUN Bangladesh Office for 2026. All quoted prices are exclusive of value-added tax (VAT). The current standard VAT rate in the People’s Republic of Bangladesh is 15%. Payments may be freely settled in three currencies: Bangladeshi Taka (BDT), Renminbi (CNY) and US Dollar (USD). There are no mandatory bundled charges.
I. Compliant Fee Models of GUOZUN CATHAY ASSOCIATES Bangladesh Office
In strict compliance with the Legal Practitioners Act of Bangladesh and the official practice regulations and fee guidelines of the Bangladesh Bar Council, and in combination with the transaction habits and demand characteristics of Chinese-funded clients, the following five standardized fee models are provided, all of which comply with local practice regulatory requirements:
1.Fixed Fee Arrangement
(1)Applicable scope: Routine services with standardized processes and accurately estimable workload.
(2) Charging rules: The total fee is fixed upon contract signing with no hidden charges throughout the term, covering standardized matters including foreign-invested company registration, standard contract review, work visa processing and basic trademark registration.
2.Hourly Rate Arrangement
(1)Applicable scope: Complex litigation and arbitration, large-scale cross-border investment projects and customized special consultations.
(2) Charging rules: Fees are calculated based on lawyers’ actual effective working hours. A detailed monthly work log will be issued to trace all work items and time spent.
3.Proportional Fee Based on Subject Matter Value
(1)Applicable scope: Property-related cases such as trade arrears, equity transactions and real estate purchases.
(2) Charging rules: Tiered declining rates apply in line with local commercial service conventions in Bangladesh.
4.Contingency Fee Arrangement
(1)Applicable scope: Cross-border debt recovery, infringement compensation, project payment recovery and other property disputes (subject to Bangladesh’s legal practice rules).
(2) Charging rules: Fees are charged at an agreed percentage after successful judgment or actual fund recovery, capped at 25% of the recovered sum.
5.Retainer Arrangement for Annual Legal Counsel
(1)Applicable scope: Enterprises requiring year-round routine legal support.
(2) Charging rules: Fixed annual fees with a dedicated Chinese-Bengali bilingual team and 48-hour priority response, covering all daily operational compliance scenarios.
II. Hourly Rate Standards for Lawyers of GUOZUN CATHAY ASSOCIATES Bangladesh Office
All lawyers of the GUOZUN Bangladesh team hold valid practicing registration with the Supreme Court of Bangladesh. Core lawyers deliver services in Chinese, English and Bengali. Several partners hold cross-jurisdictional practice qualifications in India, Singapore, the United Kingdom and other regions, with extensive experience in textile manufacturing, port infrastructure and foreign exchange compliance mega-projects. A tiered service pricing system is implemented.
1.General hourly rate bracket
(a)The full 2026 hourly rate range for all tiers stands at 11,000 BDT to 58,000 BDT per hour, covering junior lawyers, intermediate lawyers, senior lawyers / local partners, and Beijing HQ dispatched specialists / international partners.
(b) Final rates are determined by case complexity, lawyer specialization matching, project location and team configuration.
2.Surcharge provisions
(a)Off-site service surcharge: 30%–50% extra travel and on-site allowances for services delivered outside Dhaka and Chittagong.
(b)Expedited service surcharge: Flat 50% uplift for 72-hour turnaround or public holiday urgent instructions.
(c)Cross-border multi-jurisdiction uplift: 20% rate increase for cases involving other South Asian legal systems.
(d)Tri-lingual negotiation / trial uplift: 15% rate increase where simultaneous Chinese, English and Bengali interpretation is required for hearings or negotiations.
(e)Foreign exchange compliance uplift: 10%–20% rate increase for highly specialized foreign exchange control compliance matters.
III. Specific Fee Standards for Core Business Areas
This fee schedule is formulated based on high-frequency essential legal demands of Chinese-funded enterprises operating in Bangladesh, aligned with national industrial policies, local laws and special regulatory rules for export processing zones. All service price brackets are exclusive of VAT:
1.Foreign Investment Market Access and Park Establishment Compliance Services: 16,000 BDT – 330,000 BDT
(a)Full agency for 100% foreign-owned enterprise registration, Ministry of Commerce filings and foreign investment permit applications.
(b)Branch and representative office formation including industry access reviews and special business license processing.
(c)One-stop settlement services for export processing zones and private economic parks, plus tax incentive application support.
(d)Equity restructuring, capital alteration, articles of association revision and corporate reorganization compliance.
(e)Annual compliance audits, foreign exchange filings and yearly local business qualification reviews.
(f)Full legal agency for corporate deregistration, liquidation and business suspension filings.
(g)Supporting compliance services for Chinese industrial park development including policy liaison, qualification registration and site compliance checks.
2.Special Legal Services for Textile Manufacturing and Export Trade: 22,000 BDT – 390,000 BDT
(a)End-to-end legal support for garment factory setup, production permits and environmental & fire safety compliance.
(b)International factory audit compliance framework design, labor standard alignment and supply chain compliance reviews.
(c)Drafting and risk assessment of export contracts, sales orders and letter of credit transaction documents.
(d)Dispute resolution for cross-border trade arrears and defective goods claims.
(e)Legal due diligence for manufacturing enterprise mergers, acquisitions and factory asset transactions.
(f)Compliance consultation and dispute resolution covering export quotas, certificates of origin and customs clearance.
3.Legal Services for Port Logistics and Engineering Construction: 28,000 BDT – 460,000 BDT
(a)Drafting and performance management of port warehousing, cross-border haulage and freight forwarding agreements.
(b)Tender compliance for industrial plant and municipal engineering projects plus full engineering contract framework drafting.
(c)End-to-end EPC project support covering performance management, delay claims and project payment settlement.
(d)Legal representation for logistics disputes, cargo damage claims and port regulatory conflicts.
(e)Environmental compliance, construction safety review and risk mitigation for building projects.
(f)Litigation, arbitration and enforcement services for overdue construction payments.
4.Legal Services for HR Compliance and Foreign Employee Management: 3,500 BDT – 230,000 BDT
(a)Tri-lingual employment contract drafting and review tailored to Bangladesh labor legislation.
(b)Compliance overhaul of company handbooks and internal rules, alongside trade union negotiation alignment.
(c)Full-process support for foreign staff work permits, visa applications and employment quota approvals.
(d)Lawful redundancy and dismissal scheme design to avoid labor penalties and workplace disputes.
(e)Labor tribunal litigation representation and bespoke response plans for labor authority inspections.
(f)Wage payment compliance, social security registration and annual enterprise employment risk audits.
5.Legal Services for Foreign Exchange Control and Cross-Border Tax Compliance: 19,000 BDT – 310,000 BDT
(a)Foreign exchange account opening compliance filings for corporate profit repatriation and cross-border capital transfers.
(b)Transfer pricing compliance, anti-money laundering reviews and foreign investment tax framework design.
(c)Full agency for corporate tax declarations, tariff planning and export tax rebate compliance.
(d)Administrative review and hearing representation for foreign exchange breaches and tax penalties.
(e)Specialized advisory on cross-border investment tax compliance and transaction tax optimization structures.
(f)Annual tax compliance audits and support for applying industry preferential fiscal policies.
6.Legal Services for Brand Protection and Digital Operation Compliance: 3,200 BDT – 280,000 BDT
(a)Full-cycle trademark, copyright and industrial design registration, enforcement and infringement litigation representation.
(b)Cross-border e-commerce platform entry compliance, product regulatory checks and consumer dispute support.
(c)Corporate data compliance, privacy policy drafting and digital operation risk management.
(d)Anti-counterfeiting enforcement, trade secret protection and domain name dispute resolution.
(e)Technical licensing and collaboration agreement drafting plus digital investment compliance advisory.
(f)Legal representation for online trade disputes and platform sanction appeals.
7.Legal Services for Cross-Border Dispute Resolution and Judicial Enforcement: 21,000 BDT – 4,900,000 BDT
(a)Mediation and full trial representation for civil and commercial contract disputes and trade debt recovery.
(b)Representation in domestic Bangladeshi arbitration, South Asian cross-border arbitration and international commercial arbitration.
(c)Cross-border recognition and enforcement of China-Bangladesh judgments and arbitral awards.
(d)Administrative appeal and litigation representation for licensing refusals and government regulatory penalties.
(e)Asset preservation, debt recovery and cross-border fund enforcement legal services.
(f)Corporate criminal compliance audits, criminal reporting and full defense representation.
Special Note: Defense fees for cross-border financial crime, large-scale smuggling, serious criminal offenses and felony cases carry no fixed upper limit. Separate bespoke quotations will be provided based on case complexity, cross-border evidence collection difficulty and assigned team scale.
IV. Key Factors Influencing Legal Fees
1.Jurisdictional and legal complexity
(1) Higher fees apply to matters involving export processing zone special regulation, dual China-Bangladesh legal systems, cross-border evidence collection or multi-party cross-border entities.
2.Sector-specific expertise
(1) Specialized textile, port logistics and foreign exchange compliance services command higher fees than general civil and commercial work due to niche regulatory experience requirements.
3.Matter complexity
(1) Complex cases involving foreign investment access restrictions, trade union negotiation obligations and special foreign exchange controls attract adjusted higher charges.
4.Service urgency
(1) All 72-hour turnaround or public holiday urgent instructions incur a mandatory 50% expedited service surcharge.
5.Service procurement model
(1) Annual all-inclusive legal retainer packages deliver an average 15%–25% overall cost saving compared to ad-hoc separate service purchases.
6.Team resource allocation
(1) Projects requiring Beijing HQ specialist secondment, multi-discipline joint legal teams or dedicated tri-lingual service teams will attract adjusted fees based on team size and seniority.
7.Contingency case outcomes
(1)Contingency fee percentages are set according to case complexity, success likelihood, recovery timeline and enforcement practicality.
V. Additional Budgetable Third-Party Disbursements
All below third-party costs are reimbursed at actual incurred amounts in line with official Bangladeshi tariffs, with no additional administrative mark-up charged by the firm:
1.Government statutory fees
(1) Including company registration fees, foreign investment filing charges, visa fees, court filing fees, arbitration fees, intellectual property official fees and industry license application fees.
2.Notarization and consular authentication fees
(1)Local Bangladeshi notarization: 0.1%–0.3% of the transaction value.
(2)Hague apostille: Charged per document copy.
(3)China-Bangladesh consular authentication: 1,000–2,500 CNY per document; all charged at official published rates.
3.Translation and interpretation fees
(1)Chinese-Bengali legal written translation: 4,000 BDT – 8,000 BDT per thousand characters.
(2)Simultaneous tri-lingual court / negotiation interpretation: 25,000 BDT – 45,000 BDT per working day, invoiced based on actual service days.
4.Expert witness fees
(1) Industry specialists, technical witnesses and judicial appraisal services: 50,000 BDT – 180,000 BDT per engagement, reimbursed at actual cost.
5.Travel disbursements
(1) Transport, accommodation and daily off-site allowances for work outside Dhaka reimbursed on a receipt basis.
6.Banking charges
(1) Cross-border transfer and currency conversion bank fees borne solely by the client.
7.Other third-party professional fees
(1)Factory audit, environmental assessment, tax due diligence and other external consultancy costs reimbursed at actual expenditure.
VI. Important Reminder
All fee brackets stated in this document serve as official reference benchmarks only. Final total service fees will be clearly agreed in writing within the formal Entrustment Agency Contract, tailored to your specific requirements, case facts, service scope and project complexity.