Home
+
Published : 02 Jul 2025, 02:47 AM
The Chattogram Customs House commissioner has been pushed out of office for keeping the country’s busiest customs office shut during the recent week-long “complete shutdown”.
The shutdown, part of protests demanding the removal of the National Board of Revenue (NBR) chairman, paralysed operations last Saturday and Sunday.
In an official order issued late Tuesday night, Commissioner Md Zakir Hossain was made an officer on special duty (OSD) — a punishment posting — and suspended under the Government Servants (Discipline and Appeal) Rules, 2018.
The notification, signed by NBR Chairman Md Abdur Rahman Khan, cited disobedience of government directives as the reason behind the decision.
The order said Zakir did not attend work on Jun 21 and Jun 28, in defiance of an earlier directive.
On Jun 18, the NBR had cancelled the Saturday holiday for Jun 28 and ordered all officers to remain present at their posts amid growing unrest within revenue offices.
“By keeping the Chattogram Customs House shut on Saturday and Sunday, he severely disrupted import-export operations and caused the government significant revenue losses,” the notice read.
The NBR also said a departmental inquiry would be launched against the commissioner, and he has been served a show-cause notice seeking a written explanation within seven working days.
As the NBR Reform Unity Council launched its “complete shutdown” from Saturday, customs and VAT offices across the country remained closed, suspending all tax and trade clearance operations.
Chattogram customs, which handles over 90 percent of Bangladesh’s seaborne trade, was one of the worst affected.
The government responded swiftly by declaring NBR services as “essential” on Sunday, warning protesting officers of strict action if they failed to resume duties.
The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) launched preliminary investigations against six NBR officers accused of corruption, five of whom were leading the protests.
That same day, a scheduled meeting between the protesting officers and Finance Advisor Salehuddin Ahmed was cancelled after the advisor refused to negotiate while the shutdown persisted.
Amid the deadlock, the government formed a five-member committee of advisors to resolve the standoff.
Later that night, Finance Advisor Salehuddin met with leaders of several major business associations. With their mediation, a breakthrough was reached, and the NBR Reform Unity Council agreed to call off the shutdown based on “positive assurances”.
Customs houses reopened that night, and regular operations resumed across the country on Monday. However, fears of further transfers, lawsuits, and punitive action still loom large among revenue officials.
The ACC launched further inquiries into five more officials on Tuesday, just hours before the suspension order against the Chattogram commissioner was made public.
