The NBR Unity Council—a coalition of officers and employees from the Customs, VAT, and Income Tax wings of the National Board of Revenue (NBR)—has announced a three-day work abstention starting Wednesday, in protest against the government’s decision to split the NBR.
The decision to protest follows the government’s recent move to divide the NBR into two separate entities: the Revenue Policy Division and the Revenue Management Division. The Unity Council claims the move was made without transparency or consultation, bypassing recommendations from the NBR Reform Committee and disregarding prior discussions with the Unity Council.
Additional Commissioner Sadhan Kumar Kundu announced the protest schedule following a sit-in demonstration in front of the NBR headquarters on Tuesday. The work abstention will take place from 10 AM to 1 PM on Wednesday, and from 10 AM to 3 PM on both Thursday and Saturday.
Joint Commissioners Monalisa Shahrin Susmita and Fazle Elahi also addressed the gathering. The sit-in began at 4 PM, during which NBR Chairman Md Abdur Rahman left the premises to attend a separate meeting.
The Unity Council is demanding the cancellation of the ordinance that enforces the NBR split, arguing that the Reform Committee’s report was never made public and that key stakeholder consultations were ignored.
Despite the protest, international passenger services, budget-related activities, and export operations will be exempt from the work abstention.
Over the past few weeks, NBR officials have been demonstrating against provisions in the new law that allow the appointment of BCS Administration cadre officers to key posts within the restructured revenue system. The law permits the government to appoint any qualified government officer as Secretary or Senior Secretary of either division.
The ordinance, which was published discreetly at midnight on Monday, places the Customs, Excise and VAT Appellate Tribunal and the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal under the newly formed Revenue Policy Division of the Ministry of Finance.
The interim government led by Professor Muhammad Yunus approved the draft law, aiming to create clearer distinctions between revenue policy formulation and revenue collection. The new law states that positions in the two divisions will be filled by officers with expertise in income tax, VAT, customs, economics, public administration, research, statistics, auditing, accounting, and law.
According to the law, this restructuring is necessary to improve transparency, accountability, and efficiency in the revenue system. It further specifies that administrative positions within the Revenue Management Division will be filled by officers from the BCS (Administration) cadre and existing NBR personnel.
Since Parliament is currently dissolved, the President will promulgate the ordinance under Article 93(1) of the Constitution. The ordinance—formally titled The Revenue Policy and Revenue Management Ordinance, 2025—will be enacted through official notification in the Gazette, formally establishing the Revenue Policy Division under the Ministry of Finance.