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The NBR Unity Council, a platform of officers and employees from Customs, VAT and Income Tax wings of the National Board of Revenue (NBR), on Tuesday announced a three-day work abstention beginning tomorrow (Wednesday).
The protest comes in response to the government’s decision to split the NBR, allegedly bypassing the recommendations of the NBR Reform Committee, reports UNB.
Additional Commissioner Sadhan Kumar Kundu announced the programme following a sit-in demonstration held in front of the NBR headquarters.
According to him, the work abstention will take place from 10am to 1pm on Wednesday, 10am to 3pm on Thursday and 10am to 3pm on Saturday.
Joint Commissioners Monalisa Shahrin Susmita and Fazle Elahi also addressed the gathering.
The sit-in began at 4pm.
During the protest, NBR Chairman Md Abdur Rahman left the premises to attend a meeting elsewhere.
The NBR Unity Council wanted the ordinance to be cancelled as the report of the NBR Advisory Reform Committee was not made public and the discussions the committee had with the Unity were not reflected in the ordinance.
They also alleged that there were no discussions with the relevant stakeholders.
As per the decision, international passenger services, budget activities and export activities will remain out of the purview of the work abstention programme.
For the past few weeks, NBR officials have been staging protests demanding that the provision allowing admin cadre officials to be appointed under the new law be scrapped. The law, which splits the NBR into two entities—Revenue Policy Division and Revenue Management Division—has become a point of contention.
The government formed the NBR Reform Committee on October 9 last year, comprising former NBR chairmen Muhammad Abdul Mazid and Nasiruddin Ahmed, and former members Delwar Hossain and Aminur Rahman.
The ordinance was published secretly at midnight yesterday (Monday).
Under the new law, the government can appoint any suitably qualified government officer as secretary or senior secretary of the newly formed Revenue Policy and Revenue Management Divisions.
Besides, the Customs, Excise and Value Added Tax Appellate Tribunal and the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal will now fall under the Revenue Policy Division of the Finance Ministry.
The interim government, led by Professor Muhammad Yunus, recently approved the draft law to divide NBR into Revenue Policy Division and Revenue Management Division.
As per the law, various posts in the Revenue Policy and Management Divisions will be filled by officers with experience in income tax, value added tax, customs, economics, business administration, research and statistics, administration, audit and accounting, and legal work.
According to the law, it is necessary to separate the government’s revenue policy formulation activities and revenue collection management activities.
It mentioned that it is appropriate and necessary to establish a Revenue Policy Division and a Revenue Management Division by restructuring the existing structure to increase transparency, accountability and dynamism of revenue collection activities.
“Various posts in the administrative division of the Revenue Management Division will be filled from the Bangladesh Civil Service (Administration) cadre and employees working in the Revenue Management Department,” the proposed law says.
Whereas Parliament is in a state of dissolution and it appears to the President to his satisfaction that the circumstances exist which require immediate action, the President, by virtue of the powers conferred by Article 93(1) of the Constitution of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh, will promulgate the Ordinance, which will be called The Revenue Policy and Revenue Management Ordinance, 2025.
After the promulgation of this Ordinance, the Government shall, by notification in the Official Gazette, establish a new division called the Revenue Policy Division, which shall be under the Ministry of Finance.