Employees and officials of the National Board of Revenue (NBR) in Bangladesh have announced the continuation of their protest demanding the immediate removal of the current NBR chairman and the cancellation of what they describe as punitive transfer orders.
The NBR Reform Unity Council, a platform representing NBR employees at various levels, made the announcement at a press conference on Tuesday at the NBR headquarters in Agargaon, Dhaka.
The council stated that sit-in protests and pen-down strikes will continue on June 25 and 26 from 12 PM to 5 PM in all tax, customs, and VAT offices across the country, excluding international passenger services and export operations.
Employees in Dhaka will gather at the NBR headquarters, while those outside the capital will protest at their respective offices.
The protesters warned that if the chairman is not removed by June 27, they will begin a continuous, complete shutdown of all tax, customs, and VAT offices from June 28. However, international passenger services will remain operational during the shutdown.
During the press conference, the employees expressed strong opposition to the current chairman, whom they accused of destabilizing the revenue system and executing the agenda of the former "fascist" government.
They pledged to continue their non-cooperation movement and publicly denounce the chairman and his associates.
Protesters were seen carrying placards demanding the abolition of what they called "slavery laws" and rejecting "manipulative transfers."
Earlier, the government issued an ordinance on May 12 to divide the NBR into separate entities, prompting widespread protests from NBR`s customs, VAT, and income tax officials.
Following assurances from the Ministry of Finance on May 25 that the NBR would not be dissolved but instead elevated to an independent and specialized status, the initial pen-down strike was withdrawn on May 26.
However, the NBR Reform Unity Council continued to press for the chairman’s removal. On June 20, the government formed a six-member coordination committee to oversee NBR’s structural reforms, headed by NBR Member (Tax, Legal, and Enforcement) Barrister Mutasim Billah Faruki. The council strongly opposed this decision and subsequently escalated their protests.
