NBR makes major reshuffle in field administration, transfers 189 officers in 2 days

The National Board of Revenue (NBR) has carried out a large-scale reshuffle in its field administration over the past two weeks, transferring dozens of senior and mid-level officials across income tax, VAT, and customs departments.

Today (13 August), 29 commissioners of income tax, vat and customs were transferred were reassigned, following yesterday's transfer of 160 deputy commissioners and assistant commissioners.

According to NBR officials, in the past three weeks, numerous commissioners, additional commissioners, and joint commissioners have also been transferred.

While transfers are routine at the NBR, this time a significant number of officers have been assigned as full-time staff to various projects — positions that usually require only one or two officials, but now have 10 to 15 each.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, a senior officer who was at the forefront of recent NBR protests told The Business Standard, "These projects normally involve one or two officers, with just a couple of meetings a month.

"Assigning so many means they essentially have no work — it's like sidelining them."

Earlier, the NBR suspended over 15 officials for various allegations, including tearing up copies of transfer orders.

However, NBR Chairman Abdur Rahman Khan denied that the action was a form of wholesale punishment.

Responding to a question from journalists at the Secretariat on Tuesday, he said, "No one was transferred for participating in the movement. Only those who tore official transfer orders in front of the media have faced action."

The protests began after five officials were transferred on 22 June, which demonstrators described as "vindictive," tearing up the orders in symbolic protest.

Several were later temporarily suspended over the incident.