NBR protesters call off indefinite strike after assurance of ordinance amendment from finance ministry

The protesting officers and employees of the National Board of Revenue (NBR) called off their announced full-fledged strike in all offices of the Tax, Customs and VAT Department, which was scheduled to being tomorrow (26 May), after the finance ministry said the ordinance to split the NBR will be amended by 31 July after consulting with key stakeholders, keeping the interests of the protesters.

"However, our second demand — the immediate removal of the current chairman of the NBR remains unfulfilled. We hope the government will take a positive decision on this demand soon," the NBR Reform Unity Council, a coalition of customs and tax cadre officers that has been leading the protest, said in a press statement tonight (25 May).

The previously declared non-cooperation programme with the NBR Chairman will continue as planned, it, however, added.

Earlier on the day, the NBR Reform Unity Council announced that they will launch a full-fledged strike in all offices of the Tax, Customs and VAT Department from tomorrow), which will result in a halt to nearly all import and export activities, in a bid to press home their four-point demand, including repealing the ordinance to dissolve the NBR.

In the wake of looming indefinite strike, the finance ministry, in a press statement issued later, said the ordinance to split the NBR will be amended by 31 July after consulting with the Advisory Committee on Revenue Reforms and key stakeholders, keeping the interests of BCS (Customs and Excise) and BCS (Tax) cadres intact.

"Until those amendments are finalised, the ordinance will not be implemented," the ministry said.

They made the announcement after their full-fledged nationwide strike to press home their demands ended for the second day today. The strike started at all offices of Income Tax, Customs and VAT offices at 9am and continued till 5pm, keeping the Customs Houses and LC Stations out of its purview.

The ministry also said the NBR will be elevated to the status of an independent and specialised department under the Ministry of Finance.

The government expressed hope that this announcement will end all concerns of the protesting officials and employees of the NBR and that all departments in the country that collect revenue and provide revenue services will immediately start full-fledged operations.

The finance ministry said the press statement issued by the ministry on 22 May explained the government's position on various demands of the protesters.

"In view of that, the government had hoped that all the concerns of the NBR Tax, Customs and VAT Service regarding the ordinance would end. But the finance ministry feels that some ambiguity remains in this regard from the recent press release [announcement of indefinite strike] of the NBR Reform Unity Council," it says, explaining the latest ministry press statement.

The NBR employees have been protesting over four demands for the last two weeks. Their demands are repealing the ordinance to dissolve the NBR, removal of the NBR chairman, publication of the Revenue Reform Advisory Committee's recommendations on the NBR website, and ensuring appropriate and sustainable revenue system reforms through review and discussion with all relevant stakeholders.

The protesters threatened to continue their protests until all of their demands were met. They observed a full-fledged nationwide strike to press home their demands for the second day today. The strike started at all offices of Income Tax, Customs and VAT offices at 9am and continued till 5pm, keeping the Customs Houses and LC Stations out of its purview.

Previously, the NBR Reform Unity Council initiated a strike on 29 April in response to the interim government's proposed restructuring of the NBR.

Following the initial protests, several hundred officials from tax zones in Dhaka participated in demonstrations at the NBR headquarters.

They met with NBR Chairman Abdur Rahman Khan to express their concerns and urge revisions to the proposed ordinance.

The government proceeded with the reforms, officially dissolving the NBR and establishing two separate entities -- the Revenue Policy Division (RPD) and the Revenue Management Division (RMD) -- on 13 May.

This action intensified the unrest among revenue officials who viewed the move as undermining their roles and the integrity of the tax administration system.

They started a pen-down strike on 14 May and then suspended it on 19 May.

Last Wednesday (21 May), they announced a series of new programmes, including ongoing non-cooperation with the NBR chairman, to press home their demands.