PM to meet NBR officials to discuss strategy for huge revenue target

Highlights:

• Tarique Rahman will meet NBR officials for the first time
• He will review field-level revenue collection operations and processes
• NBR faces a Tk6.04 lakh crore collection target
• The target is over 45% higher than last year
• Officials will present automation and efficiency improvement strategies
• The meeting may rebuild trust after recent NBR turmoil

Prime Minister Tarique Rahman is set to meet officials of the National Board of Revenue tomorrow, for the first time during his tenure, in a bid to learn about the revenue authority's field-level operations and processes, according to officials.

NBR sources also said the prime minister is likely to ask about the NBR's strategy for achieving the Tk6.04 lakh crore revenue collection target for the fiscal 2026-27, which is more than 45% higher than that of the previous fiscal year.

Experts said the prime minister's meeting, named "Revenue Conference", would help reduce the dissatisfaction and lack of trust among officials created by their movement over the NBR bifurcation issue and the subsequent punishment, forced retirement and transfers of a large number of officials.

Officials said such a meeting between the prime minister and NBR officials is rare. Earlier in 2023, the then prime minister had attended a similar revenue conference while inaugurating the current NBR building in Agargaon, Dhaka.

NBR Member Syed Mushfequr Rahman told The Business Standard that they are preparing a presentation on strategies for achieving the revenue collection target for the new fiscal year, which will be presented to the prime minister.

He said, "The prime minister wants to know how our various activities are carried out. These include the customs clearance process, how VAT registration and payment are made, the process of obtaining an online TIN and filing returns, and how payments are made, among others."

Another official said, "We have also learned that he will ask the NBR about the progress of its automation and ways to eliminate existing irregularities and inefficiencies."

"We are preparing the presentations," he added.

Dr Syed Md Aminul Karim, a former NBR member of Income Tax Wing, who worked at the revenue authority for nearly 30 years, told TBS, "If the prime minister meets the officials and listens to them, it will create hope among them and provide an opportunity to overcome the division, fear and mistrust that had developed among them," he said.

He said, "Ultimately, this will also be positive for revenue collection," adding, "In the past, revenue collection grew by an average of 12% to 13% annually. But this year, the target is to increase revenue collection by more than 45%. The prime minister is meeting NBR officials as part of an out-of-the-box approach to achieving this target."