Published : Sunday, 6 July, 2025 at 12:51 PM, Count : 252
NBR officials shaken by government’s recent moves to quell internal unrest
The National Board of Revenue (NBR) has been gripped by an uneasy situation as some of its top officials were sent into forced retirement and others put under the Anti-Corruption Commission’s (ACC) scanner allegedly for their involvement in the recent movement under the banner of the ‘NBR Reform Unity Council’. “How would it be an easy situation in the NBR while there are so many things happening in the NBR within this short time?” a senior official of the NBR told UNB. The official who joined the recent movement, preferring anonymity, said that resentment is brewing among the NBR officials and it might take a serious turn. The NBR Reform Unity Council had been demonstrating with a series of protest programmes demanding structural reforms and the removal of the NBR Chairman citing allegations of administrative irregularities, officer intimidation, and obstruction of reform efforts. Since early June the agitating officials held a complete shutdown, marches, work abstentions, hunger strikes, and human chains, disrupting services in tax, VAT and customs offices across the country. The protests began after the government issued an ordinance on May 12 dissolving the NBR and the Internal Resources Division, replacing them with the Revenue Policy Division and the Revenue Management Division, with scope to inject Admin Cadre officials in these two divisions. The National Board of Revenue (NBR) Reform Unity Council on Sunday withdrew its ‘complete shutdown’ and ‘march for NBR’ programme, after a group of leading business people emerged as a bridge between the government and them. The government has also formed a five-member adviser-level committee to suggest ways to resolve the stalemate centring the reforms in NBR and they held a meeting with the NBR officials on Thursday. The NBR officials were asked to submit their proposals within the next two weeks. Customs, VAT and Income Tax departments, to remain open on June 21 and June 28 (both Saturdays) to boost revenue collection. Despite this instruction, the Chattogram Custom House remained closed on June 28 (Saturday) and June 29 (Sunday), causing disruptions in import and export activities, and subsequent financial losses to the government. Citing this breach, the NBR has suspended him. Revenue collection activities across the country have come to a near-complete halt due to an unprecedented shutdown of offices under the National Board of Revenue (NBR), triggered by protests and non-cooperation from officials to press home their demands. On June 28 and 29, key NBR wings, including Customs, VAT and Income Tax, remained virtually inoperative due to the 'complete shutdown' programme and 'march for NBR' programme. The officials, under the banner of NBR Reform Unity Council, had called the protest programmes, demanding the immediate removal of its chairman. NBR enabling companies to file VAT returns from their own systems The NBR Reform Unity Council had been demonstrating with a series of protest programmes demanding structural reforms and the removal of the NBR chairman citing allegations of administrative irregularities, officer intimidation and obstruction of pro-reform efforts. A former commissioner of the NBR who retired a couple of years back, said that those who have been given forced retirement were most sincere and hundred percent honest. “All of them were clean imaged officers, they were in policy wing as they were capable, honest and skilled,” he said, seeking anonymity. But he failed to explain why these officers were sent for early retirement and what is the logic behind such an act of the NBR. “This creates serious resentment among the other officials as far as I know,” he added. He mentioned that these officers were in the forefront and they were not accepting the ongoing irregularities and anomalies in the NBR.
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