National Board of Revenue (NBR) has promoted eight customs cadre officers to the rank of commissioner, superseding at least seven senior officials, triggering widespread dissatisfaction within the organisation.
Among those promoted is Mohammad Salauddin Ripon of the 24th batch, who had previously been dismissed from service in connection with a gold smuggling case. He has received four promotions within 14 months.
Ripon was first promoted from assistant commissioner to deputy commissioner, then retroactively to joint commissioner, followed by promotion to additional commissioner on 4 December, and finally given the current charge of commissioner.
Although the decision was taken by the Internal Resources Division (IRD) on Sunday, a gazette notification announcing the promotions was issued late on Monday night just before 16 December, a public holiday.
Several NBR sources said the Departmental Promotion Committee (DPC) process was delayed multiple times, primarily to facilitate Ripon’s promotion to commissioner rank. They also said that within a span of one week, he was elevated from joint commissioner to commissioner-level responsibility.
The officers promoted to commissioner rank are Mohammad Salauddin Ripon, Shamima Akter, Md Raich Uddin Khan, Md Mahbubur Rahman, Md Gias Kamal, Mohammad Safiur Rahman, Md Mushfiqur Rahman and Manas Kumar Barman.
As a result of the promotions, at least seven customs cadre officers were bypassed, including Mirza Shahiduzzaman of the 21st batch; Tareq Rikabdar, Promila Sarkar, Khairul Islam and Tajul Islam of the 24th batch; Niamul Islam of the 25th batch; and Amimul Ehsan Khan and Nahid Nawshad Mukul of the 27th batch.
Among them, Tareq Rikabdar and Amimul Ehsan Khan are currently under suspension over allegations of involvement in a recent NBR protest.
Officials said no Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) or departmental cases are pending against the remaining bypassed officers.
Public administration expert and former additional secretary Firoz Mia said depriving officials of promotion without valid reasons was unacceptable. “Depriving someone of promotion without logical justification creates instability in the workplace. Such practices are not desirable,” he told TIMES of Bangladesh.
An NBR official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the reasons for breaching seniority norms were unclear.“It is not clear why seniority was violated. However, those promoted appear to be close to the current administration,” the official said.
Before Ripon’s promotion to additional commissioner, ACC informed the IRD on 17 November that a case against him was still pending. However, on 25 November, another ACC director issued a no-objection certificate. The issuance of two differing letters by two ACC officials has drawn attention within the NBR.
Departmental records show that in 2010 while serving as an assistant commissioner, Mohammad Salauddin Ripon was accused in a gold smuggling case at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka. After the allegations were proven, he was dismissed from service in 2012. His appeal to the Administrative Appellate Tribunal upheld the dismissal order.
In 2016, Ripon filed an appeal with the High Court, claiming innocence. In 2022, the High Court acquitted him, ordered that the period of his dismissal be treated as service period, and directed the authorities to grant him notional seniority in line with his batch merit position.
Following the ruling, Ripon rejoined service in 2022 as an assistant commissioner but received no promotions under the previous administration. After the current administration took office, he was promoted to deputy commissioner on 30 September last year, granted seniority on 8 October, promoted to joint commissioner on 18 November with seniority awarded the same month, and promoted to additional commissioner on 4 December.
Repeated attempts to contact NBR Chairman Md Abdur Rahman Khan for comment were unsuccessful.
Concerned officials of the Internal Resources Division also declined to make any formal comment on the matter.
