Tax Commissioner Monwar Ahmed convened a recruitment committee meeting on Wednesday but left for Thailand without delegating his responsibility to another, which dashed the hopes of 28 job seekers.
The applicants, who went through a lengthy procedure of written examination and interview and had been waiting for a year, missed out on the government job simply because of the commissioner’s irresponsibility.
Under the existing law, if the recruitment process is not completed by tomorrow (5 September), even those who have received recommendations will no longer be able to secure appointments.
Wednesday’s meeting was supposed to appoint them.
Job seekers, who have long been waiting, have expressed sheer frustration over what they have described as the “lack of a sense of responsibility” from the commissioner.
One of them, Md Nazmul Hasan, told TIMES of Bangladesh that he had been waiting for over a year after passing the recruitment exam and completing all procedures. Finally, with the government issuing a new circular, an opportunity for appointment seemed to have surfaced, he said.
“Due to the commissioner’s negligence, our long-awaited hopes have been shattered. We are extremely disappointed with the commissioner’s actions,” he reacted angrily. “If the commissioner had delegated responsibility to someone else before leaving, at least 28 of us could have been appointed, and their families could have become self-reliant. But due to his negligence, everything is lost.”
Contacted by phone, Commissioner Monwar Ahmed of tax zone-20 said he had no knowledge of assigning someone else to execute his duty. “My trip to Bangkok was prescheduled, which I could not cancel to attend the meeting that was called hurriedly,” he claimed.
Regarding delegating his responsibility to another official, he said that could have been done, but he learned about the procedure only after landing in Bangkok.
With the failed appointment, the staff shortage in tax zone-20 is set to worsen.
Tax zone-20 had advertised 120 positions in grades 13–20 on 24 April last year. On 5 September, the Divisional Selection Committee recommended 120 candidates and created a waiting list. Of them, 99 candidates joined on 17 December, while 21 remained absent. Five people resigned later, creating an additional 26 vacant posts.
The government issued a circular on 26 August to recruit from the waiting list, raising hopes for other candidates.
This time, the validity of the waiting list was set for one year from the date of its creation. If appointments are not made within this period, the list will become null and void. The date is expiring on Thursday.
Taking the situation into account, the tax commissioner, who is the chair of the Divisional Selection Committee, convened its meeting on Wednesday but left for Bangkok without assigning anyone to fill in for him.
According to official records, the newly created tax zone, staffed with 140 personnel, still has 64 vacancies. Recruiting new staff through fresh advertisements may require at least two years and result in significant additional expenditure.
According to sources at the Commissionerate, revenue targets could not be met last fiscal year due to the staff shortage, resulting in a shortfall of nearly Tk2,500 crore. The target may be set at around Tk4,000 crore in the current fiscal year, but that may not be achieved because of the staff shortage.
