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As Bangladesh along with 186 countries across the world observed the International Customs Day-2025 on Sunday, Finance Adviser Dr Salehuddin Ahmed called upon the revenue officials not to collect taxes forcefully from the people.
He also instructed the NBR officials to shun the path of inappropriate means, such as collecting unjustified money through underhand dealings, to collect taxes.
He was addressing an event as the chief guest at the NBR premises, marking the day when the National Board of Revenue (NBR) awarded Certificate of Merit to 16 customs officials for outstanding performances in their respective fields.
The adviser also emphasised on economic reforms and automation in revenue management to collect tax rationally.
Referring to the Bangladesh National Single Window project, he said: "Its activities began in 2017 but it took six years to complete. So, you can imagine the situation." The government has now started to implement the project, he added.
Special guests Finance Secretary Dr Khairuzzaman Mazumder and Administrator of the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) Md Hafizur Rahman were also present at the programme, presided over by NBR Chairman Md Abdur Rahman Khan.
Customs Member Hossain Ahmed presented a keynote paper.
About criticism over rising commodity prices, Dr Salehuddin said that when the price of rice increases, people react like it went up to Tk 1,000 a kg. "The prices of some things may decrease while some others may increase."
Apparently in response to criticisms of the government, he compared it to a child that needs encouragement for its achievements.
"If I score 70 out of a 100, people should say that you did well, but you need to do even better. But there is a tendency to slap us for not getting a perfect 100," he said, expressing frustration over the public criticism.
Acknowledging the complexity of governance, he adds: "We don't always reveal the whole story. Criticise us for bad work that's fine, but also encourage us for the good work we do."
In his remarks, NBR Chairman Md Abdur Rahman Khan pointed out that reluctance of businesses to maintain proper transaction records has been causing revenue leakage.
"Businesses are reluctant to move forward with automation because they must follow compliance rules and keep transaction records and pay a large amount of value-added tax (VAT) and other taxes," he said.
"There is a widespread discussion about significant misdeclaration at the import stage. This creates problems, and we want to eliminate such a situation."
The NBR chairman also acknowledged the behavioural problems among some of the revenue officials and promised strict actions in case of any misconduct.
He said the taxpayers can now submit their online tax returns round the year, even after the deadline, but they will have to pay an extra charge.
The officials received WCO Certificate of Merit are: Md Lutfor Rahman, Customs Bond Commissioner Dhaka South, Additional Commissioners of Sylhet Khandaker Nazmul Huq, Khulna Md Bashir Ahmed, Inland Container Depot Md Shafiur Rahman, Deputy Commissioner Oman Mobin, Dhaka South Commissionerate Joint Commissioner Hasnain Mahmud, Deputy Commissioner Khadiza Parveen Sumi, Joint Commissioner of Chittagong Customs Md Marufur Rahman, Dhaka Customs Deputy Commissioner Sanjida Sharmin, NBR Second Secretary Md Ahsanullah, Customs Intelligence Deputy Director Parvez Al Zamab, revenue officers Md Mizanur Rahman Munshi, Sarwar Alam, Md Abdullah Al Mamun, and assistant revenue officers Md Shahadat Hossain and Md Atiqul Islam.