Protesting officials and employees of the National Board of Revenue (NBR) continued work abstention, titled pen-down strike, on Saturday, to press home their three-point demand, including the repeal of a new ordinance on restructuring the revenue administration.
They are agitating under the banner of NBR Reform Unity Council, a platform representing officials from the Customs, VAT, and Income Tax wings, are opposing NBR being split into two separate entities—Revenue Policy Division and Revenue Management Division. 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.
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.
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.