Top positions of bifurcated NBR made open to all govt officials

Any government officers with expertise can head two divisions of the National Board of Revenue as the ordinance that had fuelled shutdown protests by NBR staffers is endorsed in an amended form.

The Revenue Policy and Revenue Management (Amendment) Ordinance 2025 was approved by the Advisory Council of the interim government in its meeting held Thursday.

Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus chaired the meeting, held at the Chief Adviser's Office in Dhaka, which also approved a deal on free-visa travels by officials to and fro Bangladesh and Pakistan.

The amended ordinance introduces changes to 11 sections of the previously issued ordinance.

The amended draft law provides for appointment of officials with specialised expertise, rather than officers from any specific cadre, in positions such as the Secretaries of the Revenue Policy Division and the Revenue Management Division. Other posts will follow suit.

Under the amendment, any government officer "with experience in macroeconomics, trade policy, planning, revenue policy, or revenue management" will be eligible for appointment as the Secretary of the Revenue Policy Division.

On the other hand, any qualified government officer with experience in revenue-collection-related activities will be eligible for appointment as the Secretary of the Revenue Management Division.

The wings of the Revenue Policy Division -- including those responsible for income-tax policy, double-taxation-avoidance agreements, international treaties and opinions, customs policy, value-added tax (VAT) policy, international trade, and customs-related agreements -- as well as the wings of the Revenue Management Division -- responsible for implementation of income tax, VAT, customs laws, and field-level human-resource management -- will be filled by officials experienced in revenue- collection-related work.

For other wings of both the Revenue Policy and the Revenue Management Divisions, the ordinance stipulates the appointment of "suitably qualified" government officials.

The Advisory Council also approved a bilateral agreement with Pakistan allowing official-and diplomatic-passport holders of both countries to travel sans visas.

Briefing the press, Chief Adviser's Press Secretary Shafiqul Alam said, "We have signed similar agreements with 31 other countries. This agreement will remain valid for five years. As a result, holders of official and diplomatic passports from Bangladesh will be able to travel to Pakistan without visas."

Similarly, as per the standard practice, official-and diplomatic- passport holders from Pakistan will also be able to visit Bangladesh without visa, he said.

The agreement will be signed during the visit of Pakistan foreign minister Ishaq Dar, who arrives in Dhaka tomorrow (Saturday).

mirmostafiz@yahoo.com