NBR chairman urges businessmen to act as whistleblowers against irregularities

NBR Chairman Abdur Rahman Khan acknowledged that some of the board's directives, especially in customs offices, are not being properly implemented, causing unnecessary obstacles for businesses, and urged the business community to act as whistleblowers to help curb such irregularities.

"Why are you tolerating these things? The more you tolerate, the more officials will engage in irregularities. Yet, their salaries are paid with your money, and they are not following government directions," he said at a programme titled "Meet the Business" held at the NBR headquarters in Dhaka's Agargaon today (8 October). The event was organised by the NBR.

Abdur Rahman added, "If you don't blow the whistle, the situation won't improve. However, we have recently been receiving reports from whistleblowers, and as you have seen, punitive actions have been taken against a significant number of officials."

About 100 representatives from the Foreign Investors Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) attended the programme and raised issues they face at the field office level. The chairman advised businesses to submit complaints digitally through the Grievance Mechanism, assuring that the NBR will take necessary action after proper investigation.

The NBR chairman expressed dissatisfaction that, despite repeated instructions to customs houses to conduct valuation of imported goods based on transaction value, they deny and continue to use the 90-day record value for customs valuation.

"We have said that if it is truly problematic to value goods based on transaction value, then record value may be used. But they are not following this," he said, adding, "We want to come out from the harassment caused by customs valuation."

Emphasising the need to move away from this mindset, he added, "I will collect taxes based on the law. There is no need to forcibly collect taxes outside the legal framework."

Abdur Rahman further instructed all offices, saying, "I don't want to hear how much an office collects. I want to know whether the work assigned under the law is being carried out through due process."

The programme was conducted by FICCI Executive Director TIM Nurul Kabir. Md Mahbub ur Rahman, chief executive officer of HSBC Bangladesh and director of FICCI, and senior NBR officials also attended the programme.

Concern raised about harassment

During the discussion, foreign investors highlighted how they often face harassment by field-level officials. A representative of Reckitt Benckiser (Bangladesh) Limited said, "Despite being entitled to VAT rebates on human resource services, field offices are denying them. A five-year-old dispute is already pending with the tribunal, with a hearing scheduled for next week – and now two more years have been added."

The representative added that field officials had told them, "This is not our concern; the NBR will provide the legal interpretation."

In response, the NBR chairman immediately asked the relevant officer why a legal clarification had not yet been issued to the field offices and instructed that it be provided without delay. He also warned that disciplinary action would be taken against any official who failed to comply.

FICCI representatives also raised concerns regarding customs valuation based on record value instead of transaction value, the imposition of conditions on VAT rebates, and the lack of a level playing field among similar businesses.

Addressing these complaints, the NBR chairman said, "At customs houses, compliant businesses are often held up, while others manage to clear goods within an hour – that is where the problems lie." He directed officials to take necessary measures to ensure access to global transaction value data to resolve these valuation-related irregularities.