The government has granted final approval for the dissolution of the National Board of Revenue (NBR) and the creation of two separate departments: Revenue Policy and Revenue Management.
As per the amendments in the ordinance, the Revenue Management Department will be headed by current NBR officials. However, the Revenue Policy Department may be headed by officials from NBR or any other competent department, depending on the government’s discretion.
The final approval came during a meeting of the Advisory Council held on Thursday.
The Press Secretary to the Chief Adviser Shafiqul Alam, said that for the Revenue Policy division, the head could be any official with the required qualifications, experience, and merit from any cadre.
He also mentioned that the position of secretary for the Revenue Management Department will remain unchanged, as specified in the original ordinance.
Earlier, the ordinance had prioritised officials with experience in revenue collection for the post of head of the Revenue Management Department. However, the amended ordinance now allows for any qualified government official with relevant experience in revenue collection to be appointed.
Similarly, the earlier ordinance mentioned appointing an “appropriate official” for the Revenue Policy Department. The amended ordinance now permits the government to appoint someone with experience in macroeconomics, trade policy, planning, or revenue management. This means that officials outside NBR can also be considered for the post.
The revised ordinance also specifies clear guidelines for the recruitment of officials for both divisions. In total, 11 amendments were made to the previously issued ordinance.
In May, the government issued a new ordinance to dissolve the NBR, which led to dissatisfaction among the current NBR officials.
In response to their protests, the ordinance was later amended.
Officials had expressed concerns that the original ordinance was designed to give more authority to officials from the administration cadre, reducing the opportunities for revenue officers to hold top positions.
Protests began in mid-May, with a shutdown of revenue services and port activities in late June as part of the campaign. The government responded by dismissing 36 officials temporarily, forcing five into retirement, and transferring nearly 400 officials.
However, with the amendments to the ordinance, some satisfaction has been restored among NBR officials. They now believe their protests were justified, as the amended ordinance ensures that at least one division will be headed by an NBR official.