NBR officials resume pen-down strike over reform demands

Officials and employees of the National Board of Revenue (NBR) resumed a pen-down strike and sit-in at the NBR headquarters Monday morning, demanding urgent reforms within the organization.

The protest began at 9 a.m. with participants wearing burial clothes as a symbolic act during the three-hour demonstration.

The NBR Reform Unity Council, which represents NBR officials, announced the strike at a press conference on Saturday. Council President Hasan Muhammad Tarek Rikabdar and General Secretary Sehela Siddiqua called for immediate, logical reforms and demanded the removal of the NBR Chairman, accusing him of delaying progress.

Earlier, the council declared the Chairman “persona non grata” on NBR premises.

The council also criticized the six-member NBR Reform Committee, formed on June 19 to amend revenue ordinances, for excluding any representatives from the council and called for proper inclusion.

The government issued an ordinance on May 12 abolishing the NBR and the Internal Resources Division (IRD), replacing them with two new bodies: the Revenue Policy Division and the Revenue Management Division. Since then, NBR officials under the Reform Unity Council have staged several protests.

On May 26, the government said amendments to the ordinance would be finalized through consultations by July 31. The newly formed committee is part of this process.

Meanwhile, the Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) imposed a ban on all gatherings, rallies, and demonstrations from Shishu Mela to the NBR office area in Agargaon from Sunday until further notice.