NBR staff threaten complete shutdown demanding chairman's removal

The National Board of Revenue (NBR) Reform Unity Council today warned it would enforce a complete shutdown of all tax, VAT, and customs offices nationwide from Saturday unless NBR Chairman Md Abdur Rahman Khan is removed.

Council President Hasan Muhammad Tarek Rikabdar and General Secretary Sehela Siddika issued the ultimatum at a press conference at the NBR headquarters in Dhaka. 

They accused the chairman of acting as a "political agent of the former Awami League government" and destabilising the country's revenue structure.

The threat follows a sit-in and a three-hour pen-down strike held the same day at the NBR headquarters. Protesters, including officers and staff, wore symbolic burial shrouds to express frustration over what they described as "administrative vindictiveness".

The council alleged that five income tax officials were transferred on Sunday in retaliation for their involvement in the movement. These included two officers from the Intelligence and Investigation Unit, one from the board office, and two from tax zones in Dhaka and Cumilla.

Describing the transfers as "vindictive and oppressive," council leaders demanded their immediate reversal. They announced further protest action from 25 to 26 June, including sit-ins and pen-down strikes from noon to 5pm, exempting international passenger and export services.

In a written statement, the council said the chairman violated established transfer policies by reassigning senior commissioners for personal reasons and placing a controversial official in a sensitive position. 

They also accused him of deploying a "syndicate of outsiders" to incite violence and threaten protesting officers with further punishment and transfers.

"These actions are creating a toxic work environment and could severely disrupt revenue collection," the statement read.

The council has already declared Chairman Abdur Rahman Khan "persona non grata" at the NBR headquarters, blaming him for stalling key policy reforms and sidelining reform-minded officers.

Meanwhile, officials at the Custom House in Chattogram staged a three-hour pen-down strike on Monday, following a centrally announced programme. 

The protest disrupted one of the country's busiest customs stations, which handles over 2,000 import bills and around 5,000 export documents daily.

The protests have intensified since the government issued an ordinance on 12 May abolishing the NBR and the Internal Resources Division. 

The move introduced two new divisions – the Revenue Policy Division and the Revenue Management Division – but failed to address the council's demand for the chairman's removal.