NBR officials to resume pen-strike

Officials and employees of the National Board of Revenue (NBR) will resume their strike on Monday, demanding the removal of NBR Chairman Md. Abdur Rahman Khan.

Leaders of the 'NBR Reform Unity Council' made the announcement at a press conference held at the NBR headquarters in Agargaon on Saturday (June 20).

The council stated that following the passage of the national budget on Sunday, a sit-in and work stoppage will take place from 9.00am to 12.00 noon across all NBR offices in Dhaka on Monday. NBR personnel from outside the capital will observe similar programmes at their respective offices.

Earlier, officials had gone on strike opposing the government’s plan to split the NBR into two independent departments. Although the government later clarified that the NBR would not be abolished but restructured as an independent, specialized department, the Reform Unity Council lifted the strike on May 26 but declared a non-cooperation movement, demanding the chairman’s removal.

The government formed a six-member coordination committee on June 19 to oversee NBR’s structural reforms, led by NBR Member (Tax, Legal and Enforcement) Barrister Mutasim Billah Faruqui. However, the council alleged it was not consulted or represented in the committee.

At the press conference, Council President Additional Commissioner Hasan Muhammad Tarek Rikabder and Secretary General Additional Commissioner of Taxes Sehela Siddiqua claimed officials faced harassment and punitive transfers for participating in earlier protests. They also accused the chairman of questioning the legitimacy of the council and obstructing reform efforts.

The council has called for the chairman’s immediate removal, inclusion of its representatives in the reform committee, and an end to retaliatory actions against officials. They also claimed the chairman is listed among absconding pro-government bureaucrats and is actively blocking the revenue reform process.

The internal standoff casts uncertainty over the government’s ongoing revenue reform agenda.