Officers and employees of the National Board of Revenue (NBR) continued their work abstention on Saturday.
The protest programme called by NBR Reform Unity Council, a platform representing officials from the Customs, VAT, and Income Tax wings, will continue until 3pm today.
They are opposing the government’s recent move to restructure the NBR by dividing it into two separate entities—Revenue Policy Division and Revenue Management Division—without incorporating the recommendations of the NBR Reform Committee, they claimed.
Their demands include immediate withdrawal of the proposed Revenue Ordinance, public disclosure of the NBR Reform Advisory Committee’s report, and a comprehensive reform of the revenue system through consultation with stakeholders, including NBR officials, business associations, civil society representatives, and political leaders.
Saturday’s demonstration falls on a special working day designated by the government to compensate for Eid holidays.
As part of the symbolic protest, most NBR officials and staff refrained from work by laying down their pens.
The NBR personnel have been staging protests for weeks, voicing concerns over provisions in the new law that allow administrative cadre officers to be appointed to key positions within the restructured framework.
The new law empowers the government to appoint any qualified civil servant as secretary or senior secretary of the newly created divisions.
The law also places the Customs, Excise and VAT Appellate Tribunal and the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal under the jurisdiction of the Revenue Policy Division under the Finance Ministry.
Furthermore, it permits appointments to both divisions from a pool of professionals with expertise in income tax, VAT, customs, economics, business administration, research and statistics, administration, audit and accounting, and legal affairs.
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According to the law, the separation of policy-making and revenue collection is aimed at increasing transparency, accountability, and efficiency in the revenue system. It also specifies that administrative roles within the Revenue Management Division will be filled by officers from the Bangladesh Civil Service (Administration) cadre and existing NBR personnel.