Government waives penalties for 20 NBR officials
Collected Photo
The government has waived the light penalties previously imposed on 20 National Revenue Board (NBR) officials who had been suspended following demonstrations over the restructuring of the agency.
The Internal Resources Division issued separate notifications on Sunday granting the waivers. Ahsan Habib, Acting Chairman of the NBR and Acting Secretary of the Internal Resources Division, signed the orders.
The officers whose penalties were waived include Deputy Commissioner Shahadat Jamil, Revenue Officer Shafiul Bashar, Revenue Officer Sabuj Miah, Deputy Commissioner Mohammad Saidul Alam, Commissioner Zakir Hossain, Joint Commissioner Sanwarul Kabir, Additional Commissioner Sadhan Kumar Kundu, Additional Commissioner A A M Amimul Ehsan, Additional Commissioner Sifat-E-Morium, Additional Commissioner Hasan Muhammad Tareque Rikabdar, Deputy Commissioner of Taxes Zillur Rahman, Deputy Commissioner of Taxes Imam Tauhid Hasan Shakil, Additional Commissioner of Taxes Mirza Ashik Rana, Joint Commissioner of Taxes Monalisa Shahrin Susmita, Joint Commissioner of Taxes Mamun Miah, Additional Commissioner of Taxes Chand Sultana, Additional Commissioner of Taxes Sultana Habib, Additional Commissioner of Taxes Murad Ahmed, Joint Commissioner of Taxes Masuma Khatun, and Joint Commissioner of Taxes Mohammad Morshed Uddin.
According to the notifications, on June 24, 2025, around 11:30 AM, these officials gathered at the entrance of the Revenue Building and publicly tore up a transfer order issued on June 22 of that year in front of electronic and print media. This act was deemed disrespectful, showing support for non-compliance with official transfer orders.
The notices further said that such conduct was detrimental to service discipline, uncalled for, and tantamount to disobeying government orders. Consequently, penalties such as reductions in pay scales for varying durations had been imposed.
It was also noted that the officers submitted appeal petitions to the President through the appropriate authorities by July 30, seeking forgiveness for the punitive measures. The President subsequently granted the appeals and ordered the cancellation of the sentences. The notifications officially exempted the officers from the departmental charges and revoked the penalties that had lowered their base salaries.
Earlier, on August 18, during a revenue conference, NBR officials had submitted an application to Prime Minister Tarique Rahman requesting the withdrawal of the disciplinary actions taken against them. At that time, the Prime Minister indicated that the matter was under consideration.
In 2025, the interim government had issued an ordinance to split the NBR into two distinct divisions: Revenue Management and Revenue Policy. However, NBR officers and employees launched a movement, including a work stoppage, demanding the repeal of that ordinance.
On May 22 of that year, the Ministry of Finance issued a press release stating that necessary amendments would be made to the ordinance and that all NBR operations would continue under the existing structure until those amendments were finalized. Despite this, staff raised various allegations, initiated a fresh protest demanding the resignation of the then NBR Chairman Abdur Rahman Khan, and declared him persona non grata at the headquarters.
To press their demands, the employees began a complete shutdown on June 28, halting import-export operations and bringing NBR activities to a standstill. As the movement continued into the next day, the interim government decided to declare the agency's services as essential services.
Following mediation by business leaders, the protesters' platform, the NBR Reform Unity Council, withdrew the shutdown. Disciplinary decisions against several officers followed before the formation of the new government, resulting in forced retirements for some and lighter penalties for others.
