Turmoil deepens at NBR as officials threaten shutdown

Protesting National Board of Revenue officials have announced an all-out shutdown from Saturday if the tax authority's chairman is not removed by today.

The ultimatum comes after the protesters -- comprising income tax, VAT and customs officials -- under the banner of 'NBR Reform Unity Council' staged a pen-down strike and sit-in for the fourth consecutive day in front of the NBR headquarters in the capital's Agargaon yesterday.

The demonstrations began at 12pm in front of the NBR headquarters in Dhaka.

A large contingent of law enforcement personnel, including members of the army, police, Rapid Action Battalion, Bangladesh Coast Guard and Border Guard Bangladesh, were already deployed at the site.

Protesters said no one was allowed to enter or exit the premises during the demonstration, with several employees sitting at the building's main gates.

Around 1:30pm, Council President Hasan Muhammad Tarek Rikabdar, an additional commissioner, tried to enter the NBR building but was blocked by law enforcers.

In protest, he sat down in front of the main gate, further escalating the demonstration.

Read more

Protesting NBR officials to boycott adviser’s meeting

However, Asif Mahmud, assistant commissioner of Dhaka Metropolitan Police's Tejgaon Division, said the protesting officers were themselves preventing others from entering the building and the police were just providing security.

Officials from 25 customs stations including Chattogram and Mongla ports as well as the Kamalapur inland container depot as well as more than 100 VAT, customs and tax offices across the country have been observing a daily five-hour work abstention since Wednesday.

The protest runs from 12pm to 5pm each day.

While export consignments are still being processed, importers say they are unable to clear their goods due to the ongoing disruption, which, in turn, is affecting exports that depend on imported raw materials.

One such aggrieved importer is Anamul Islam, owner of Golden Steel Traders.

His imported consignment of 12 containers arrived at Chattogram Port last Sunday but he is unable to complete customs clearance or pay the duty to release the goods. Due to the delay, he has to count container and port charges amounting to about Tk 1.5 lakh a day.

However, Deputy Commissioner of Chattogram Custom House Mohammad Saidul Islam said directives have been issued to ensure no file remains pending after the abstention hours.

Export operations and airport services remain functional during the protests, he said, adding that his office has not received any official complaints regarding the issue.

The average number of import consignment assessments and inspections per day has dropped from about 4,000 to approximately 2,000 over the past few days, according to data from Chattogram Customs House.

Achieving the annual revenue target for the fiscal year is unlikely amid the protests, according to customs officials.

As of June 25, Tk 73,321 crore has been collected against the annual target of Tk 83,432 crore.

"Naturally, our revenue collection is being hampered to some extent due to the ongoing movement," said NBR Chairman Abdur Rahman Khan at an event organised by the Economic Reporters' Forum in Dhaka yesterday.

Meanwhile, experts believe the issue is being prolonged due to ego clashes.

"It is not about anyone stepping down or serving anyone's ego -- the economy is suffering due to this stalemate," said Towfiqul Islam Khan, senior research fellow at the Centre for Policy Dialogue.

An in-person meeting should take place between the high-level policymakers and the protesting NBR officials with open minds on both sides, he said.

The meeting should agree upon a joint action plan to revise the relevant ordinance, starting with a defined date, methodology, timeline and identification of stakeholders.

The following process should involve key stakeholders, including business leaders, experts and political party leaders.

The process must remain open and transparent, focusing on creating a professional, efficient, and accountable tax system, he added.

The protesting officials though boycotted the Finance Adviser Salehuddin Ahmed's offer of a meeting yesterday to break the impasse saying it was not an "official invitation".

At a press briefing following the four-day pen-down strike, the council sought Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus's intervention to solve the crisis.

The council also announced a 'March to NBR' programme for June 28 during which all offices under the tax, customs and VAT departments across the country will march towards the NBR headquarters.