ACC launches probe against five NBR commissioners, officers

The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has initiated an investigation against five more officials of the National Board of Revenue (NBR).

The commission made the disclosure through a press release on Thursday. The officials under investigation are Md Kamruzzaman, commissioner of Benapole Customs House; Kazi Mohammad Ziauddin, commissioner of Dhaka East Customs, Excise and VAT Commissionerate; Sehela Siddika, additional tax commissioner of the Income Tax Division; Md Mamun Mia, deputy tax commissioner; and Lokman Ahmed, tax inspector.

Sehela Siddika is the secretary general of the NBR reform unity council, which led the recent movement in NBR. Multiple NBR officials told Prothom Alo that the investigation is being used as a means of harassment in retaliation for the movement.

According to the ACC press release, unscrupulous NBR members and officials are facilitating tax evasion in exchange for large sum of bribes, and allowing some specific taxpayers to pay less than their actual dues for their mutual benefits.

In the aftermath, the government is losing significant revenue each year. In some cases, officials file false tax evasion cases against business owners if bribes are not paid, further harassing them.

The ACC said some taxpayers pay advance or excess taxes, and the law mandates that any overpaid amount must be refunded. It was learned from data analysis and complaints that to receive such refunds, taxpayers often have to pay additional bribes or offer gifts, sometimes amounting to half the refund.

There are allegations that the concerned tax officials take hefty sums in the name of processing these refunds.

Earlier, the ACC launched investigations into 11 high-ranked NBR officials, including two NBR members. Among them is Hasan Muhammad Tarek Rikabdar, the president of the NBR reform unity council.