The government has issued the much-discussed Revenue Policy and Revenue Management Ordinance, dissolving the National Board of Revenue (NBR), the country's traditional organization. Simultaneously, the Internal Resources Division has also been abolished.
According to relevant sources, the issued ordinance has brought about only minor changes in the scope of work of the Revenue Policy Division. In the Revenue Management Division's administrative posts, officials from the Admin cadre, as well as Income Tax and Customs cadres, have been placed.
Reviewing the draft ordinance, it has been observed that the Revenue Policy Division will monitor and supervise the implementation of tax laws and the tax collection situation. The administrative sections of the Revenue Management Division will be filled by Admin cadre officials and field-level employees working in the Revenue Management Division.
The issued ordinance states that the Revenue Policy Division will evaluate the implementation of tax laws and the tax collection situation. That is, the word 'supervise' has been replaced with 'evaluate'.
Additionally, various posts in the administrative sections of the Revenue Management Division will be filled by Admin cadre officials, as well as Income Tax and Customs cadre officials and field-level employees working in the Revenue Management Division.
As per the new ordinance, the manpower of the National Board of Revenue will be vested in the Revenue Management Division. Necessary personnel can be deputed from this manpower to the Revenue Policy Division. Furthermore, the Internal Resources Division (IRD) will be abolished, and its manpower will be vested in the Revenue Policy Division.
Meanwhile, officials and employees of all levels of the National Board of Revenue (NBR) have chosen the path of agitation to protest against the secret passage of the draft 'Revenue Policy and Revenue Management Ordinance' and to achieve their demands. They will hold a sit-down strike at the NBR building starting from 3 pm on Tuesday. This program was announced on Monday at the NBR building under the banner of 'NBR Reform Unity Council', comprising BCS Income Tax and Customs cadre officers, non-cadre officers of the Income Tax and Customs departments, and third and fourth-class employees.
Regarding this, NBR sources say that the deficit in the first nine months of the 2024-25 fiscal year has exceeded Tk 65,665 crore. To meet the target in the remaining three months, revenue of Tk 2,275 crore has to be collected daily. At this moment, going on strike could lead to a significant revenue loss for the government.
After the gazette notification was issued, several Income Tax and Customs officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said in their immediate reaction that many things were not kept according to expectations. Those working in Dhaka will hold a sit-in program at the NBR building today. The official reaction will be given from there.
