Non-cadre officers of the National Board of Revenue (NBR) on Sunday welcomed the promotion of eligible officials to the post of Deputy Commissioner.
They described the move as a historic step towards ending decades-long discrimination within the customs and VAT administration.
In a statement, leaders of the Bangladesh Customs and VAT Officers Association (BACVOA) said non-cadre officials have faced systemic discrimination in almost every aspect of service, including delayed basic training, job regularisation, gradation, access to higher grades, regularisation from acting positions and timely promotion.
It cited the latest promotion as a landmark development, noting that after a gap of 33 years, non-cadre officers have finally been promoted to the post of Deputy Commissioner.
Although many non-cadre officers had long fulfilled all eligibility criteria, the absence of an integrated gradation system between directly recruited cadre officers and those promoted departmentally had resulted in prolonged stagnation for non-cadre officials, it said.
The association voiced optimism that the move would pave the way for a discrimination-free customs and VAT administration and that the momentum for timely and fair promotions would be maintained in the future.