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Published : 02 Jul 2025, 09:08 PM
The interim government has sent four senior officials of the National Board of Revenue (NBR) into compulsory retirement, citing “in the interest of the public”.
The officials are Hossain Ahmed, member (Customs Policy & ICT), Md Alamgir Hossain, member (Tax Audit Intelligence & Investigation), Md Abdur Rouf, member (VAT Policy), and Md Shabbir Ahmed, commissioner (Income Tax).
Separate notifications issued by the Internal Resources Division on Wednesday said the officials were being retired as they had completed 25 years of service.
The move came a day after the suspension of Md Zakir Hossain, commissioner of Chattogram Customs House, who was made an officer on special duty (OSD) on Tuesday midnight.
He was accused of defying government orders by keeping the customs house closed during the “complete shutdown” programme enforced by NBR officials and employees demanding the removal of their chairman.
A separate order signed by NBR chief Md Abdur Rahman cites “disobedience” of government directives as the reason for his removal.
The protest began after the government issued an ordinance in May bifurcating the NBR into two divisions, Revenue Policy and Revenue Management.
But discontent persisted. Officials continued demanding the resignation of the NBR chairman, eventually launching a “complete shutdown” of customs and VAT offices from Saturday under the banner of the NBR Reform Unity Council.
The government later suspended the ordinance and opted for dialogue-based reform instead.
By the final stages of the movement, all members of the board, including Alamgir, Hossain, and Rouf, had joined.
Shabbir had been particularly active in building public support for the reform movement.
He delivered seminar presentations on international tax systems and frequently shared his views on social media.
On Sunday, the government declared revenue services “essential” and warned of disciplinary action against those who failed to return to work.
Amid the crisis, the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) launched investigations into alleged corruption by six protesting NBR officials.
On Tuesday, five more were added to the list of those under ACC scrutiny.
Finance Advisor Salehuddin Ahmed, who was scheduled to meet the protesting officials that day, declined to sit with them while the shutdown was in force.
In an attempt to resolve the crisis, the government later announced the formation of a five-strong advisory committee.
Following a day of intense developments, Salehuddin sat with leaders of several business associations, where a breakthrough emerged.
Based on what was described as a “positive assurance” during the talks, the NBR Unity Council agreed to call off the protests.
Customs houses were reopened that night, and operations resumed on Monday.
Unease, however, remains across the revenue service, with officials still fearing transfers, legal action and dismissals.
