The National Board of Revenue (NBR) granted VAT exemption to the Karnafuly Ship Builders Limited after the Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA) failed to make a payment in dollars for four dredgers it had bought from the shipbuilder. The BIWTA had procured four suction dredgers from Karnafuly Ship Builders Limited through an international tender. Purchases made
Engineer Abdur Rashid founded the Karnafuly Ship Builders Limited (KSBL) in Chattogram in 1994 after visiting Japan for a training programme on shipbuilding.