The government has sent two senior officials of the National Board of Revenue (NBR) — Member Alamgir Hossain and Acting Commissioner of Barisal Tax Zone Md. Shabbir Ahmed — into retirement.
The move was made under Section 45 of the Government Service Act 2018, citing completion of 25 years of service and considering "public interest." Both officials will receive retirement benefits as per existing regulations.
The Internal Resources Division (IRD) issued two separate orders on Wednesday afternoon formalizing the decision.
Several NBR officials have indicated that the move may be a punitive response to recent demonstrations within the revenue board.
This development comes a day after Md. Zakir Hossain, Commissioner of the Chattogram Customs House, was suspended late Tuesday night for disrupting port operations during a two-day work stoppage on June 28–29.
The IRD stated that Zakir Hossain defied instructions to keep the office open, which resulted in serious disruption to import-export activities and significant revenue losses.
In response to the suspension, Mohammad Shafi Uddin, Commissioner of the Chattogram Customs Bond Commissionerate, was reassigned to head the Chattogram Customs House.
The suspension and retirements follow a countrywide two-day "complete shutdown" enforced by customs and tax officers under the NBR Reform Unity Council, demanding structural reforms in the revenue sector.
Operations were halted at customs and tax offices across the country, including at the Chattogram Customs House — the largest revenue-generating office under NBR, which collected nearly Tk 750 billion in the last fiscal year.
Meanwhile, the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) is currently investigating 11 NBR officials, including two members of the board and the president of the NBR Reform Unity Council, Hasan Muhammad Tarek Rikabdar.
