Dhaka, October 22 (bdnews24.com) -- Outgoing NBR chairman Badiur Rahman Monday said he had sought voluntary retirement from public service.
"I have failed to please my master. I have never bowed my head to anybody except Allah in my life," Rahman told reporters at the National Board of Revenue office.
Rahman, who was appointed the country's chief revenue collector on Jan 21, was transferred to the Food and Disaster Management Ministry in a major administrative reshuffle on Oct 18. The same day, he applied for voluntary retirement, to be effective from Nov 22.
In a press briefing Monday, Rahman said: "The government should consult secretaries before their transfer. It helps their work and the ministry also benefits. A secretary is transferred without any reason. What is this?"
Mohammad Abdul Majid, a member of the Planning Commission, replaced Rahman as NBR chairman.
In Monday's press conference, Rahman said he had submitted two other applications to the government in addition to his request for retirement.
He also sought one month's leave, to be effective from Oct 22, and appealed for compensation for his "financial loss" incurred as a result of not being promoted to secretary in March 2006 when many other officials were promoted to secretary.
Rahman claims he achieved eligibility for the post while serving as an additional secretary.
Asked how hopeful he was about his applications, Rahman said: "I have taken these decisions after much thought."
"There will be no change in my decision, regardless of who asks. I have decided to retire from government service with honour."
"As the chairman of the NBR I discharged my responsibilities with sincerity in the nine months of my service."
"The media extended their cooperation, which inspired me in my work. I think the cause of my transfer may be the wide coverage I received in the media," Rahman said.
The former chief revenue collector added that he still harboured some concerns over the coverage of the caretaker government's anticorruption drive, saying: "Some will go scot-free."
"If I had remained in the post of chairman of the NBR, revenue earnings would have been higher. The tendency to pay tax among people in rural areas has increased," he said.
Rahman was scheduled to go on leave preparatory retirement on January 29, 2009.
Asked whether he was transferred for not working according to the World Bank-IMF diktat, he said: "I won't say anything about it. I always working keeping the interest of the country in mind."
"IMF said the revenue target for the current fiscal year was ambitious. I said it was not at all ambitious. This target can surely be achieved if work is done properly."
Rahman said revenue collections grew 19 percent in three months (July-September), which was 17 percent in the same period a year ago. "I proved I was right."
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