Home
+
Published : 26 Jun 2025, 09:49 PM
Amid administrative paralysis, the National Board of Revenue’s (NBR) Reform Unity Council has called on Chief Advisor Muhammad Yunus to intervene.
Council members, who have been staging a sit-in and pen-down strike for four days, held a press conference outside the Agargaon Revenue Building on Thursday.
They stressed that without Yunus’s direct involvement, “the impasse cannot be resolved”.
Ahead of the briefing, Army personnel sealed off the building, backed by the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), police, Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB), and Coast Guard, locking all gates and blocking entry and exit.
NBR Additional Commissioner Hasan Mohammad Tarek Rikabder, the council’s president, was barred entry and sat at the main gate in protest.
Others joined him on the footpath and road before addressing journalists around 4:15pm.
“Around the building you can see a large deployment of police, RAB, BGB, Coast Guard and Army personnel sealing all gates. No official or employee can enter NBR,” he said.
Hasan added that the action evoked memories of the July Uprising.
“Just as the former regime failed to crush that revolt, no force can stop our demand for revenue reform.”
“We’re ready to shed our last drop of blood to protect NBR from being dismantled.”
After office hours, the army opened the gates from inside but staff found them padlocked from outside by the council.
The locks were removed at around 5:15pm, after which security forces escorted cars and buses through the main gate to the road.
On Wednesday, the finance ministry issued a statement saying a representative team from the tax and customs cadre had been invited to meet Finance Advisor Salehuddin Ahmed at 5pm on Thursday.
The council declined, citing lack of formal invitation.
In May, the interim government issued an ordinance splitting the NBR into Revenue Administration and Revenue Policy divisions.
Staff responded with pen-down strikes, demanding its repeal.
Amid backlash, the government pledged to consult NBR officials before moving ahead.
The reform campaign has also turned its attention to the NBR chairman.
Protesters have declared him “unwanted” in the office and are demanding his resignation.
Under heavy escort, he has resumed his duties.
The council has warned that unless the chairman is removed by Friday, it will launch a “complete shutdown” of all tax, customs and VAT offices across the country beginning Saturday.
It also announced a “March to NBR” programme from all offices.
