With no immediate resolution in sight, the standoff at the National Board of Revenue (NBR) continues as officials and employees of the revenue exchequer launched a complete shutdown and a march to the NBR headquarters on Saturday morning, demanding the removal of the NBR chairman.
The protest is being organised under the banner of the ‘NBR Reform Unity Council’. Since Saturday morning, the participants have been gathered at the NBR building in Agargaon.Law enforcement agencies blocked access to the building after 10:30am, deploying a significant number of officers both inside and outside the premises.
To support the march and shutdown, officials and employees from various district tax, customs, and VAT offices in and around Dhaka have joined the demonstration, taking positions around the NBR building and nearby sidewalks.
On Friday, the Ministry of Finance issued a press release stating that a meeting had been held the previous day in an effort to resolve the deadlock.
The ministry said three key decisions were made: to withdraw the programmes announced under the NBR Reform Unity Council banner, reconsider recent transfer orders, and hold a tripartite discussion on Tuesday.
The government, during the meeting, instructed all officials and staff to return to their offices and resume work calling off the complete shutdown and the “March to NBR” program, citing the need to protect national interests including trade, business, and cross-border commerce.
However, these instructions have largely been ignored.
The ongoing protests have escalated since the government issued an ordinance on May 12, abolishing the NBR and the Internal Resources Division.
The ordinance established two new entities: the Revenue Policy Division and the Revenue Management Division. Following the ordinance, NBR officials initiated a pen-down strike, which was suspended on May 19.
However, on May 21, they declared a continued non-cooperation stance with the NBR chairman, accusing him as a “political agent of the former Awami League government” and destabilising the country’s revenue structure and announced further plans to press their demands.
The council also alleged that five income tax officials were transferred on Sunday (June 22) in retaliation for their involvement in the movement. These included two officers from the Intelligence and Investigation Unit, one from the board office, and two from tax zones in Dhaka and Cumilla.
On Wednesday (June 25), the council rejected finance adviser Dr Salehuddin Ahmed’s call for a dialogue aimed at resolving the ongoing crisis, as representatives of the council were not invited to the discussion scheduled for Thursday.
Later, in press conference, the council warned that, if the NBR Chairman is not removed by June 27, a non-stop, indefinite work stoppage will begin from June 28 in all offices under the tax, customs, and VAT departments and will launch a “March to NBR” campaign.
