Presidential order revokes punishment of 20 NBR officials

The punishments imposed on 20 officials of the National Board of Revenue (NBR) for taking part in a protest have been waived. After the officials sought pardon, the President accepted their appeals and ordered the cancellation of their penalties. The Internal Resources Division (IRD) has already issued a gazette notification waiving the punishments.

During last year’s movement for reforms in the revenue sector, the officials publicly tore up their transfer orders, in violation of the Government Servants’ Conduct Rules. Some played the role of organisers in the movement, while others took part by keeping their respective offices closed.

The officials whose punishments have been revoked are Commissioner Zakir Hossain (in charge), Additional Tax Commissioners Hasan Tarek Rikabdar, Mirza Ashik Rana, Chad Sultana Chowdhurani, Sultana Habib, Murad Ahmed, Sifat-e-Morion, A A Amimul Ehsan and Sadhan Kumar Kundu; Joint Tax Commissioners Monalisa Shahrin, Mamun Mia, Masuma Khatun, Morshed Uddin Khan and Sanwarul Kabir; Deputy Tax Commissioners Zillur Rahman, Imam Towhid Hossain, Saidul Islam and Shahadat Jamil; and Revenue Officers Sabuj Mia and Shafiul Bashar.

According to the gazette notification, the NBR officials whose punishments were waived had been transferred in June 2025 during the movement in the revenue sector. They later publicly tore up their transfer orders. This was deemed misconduct under Rule 30A of the Government Servants’ Conduct Rules, 1979, and Rule (b) of the Government Servants (Discipline and Appeal) Rules, 2018.

After departmental investigations found the allegations proven, the officials were given various punishments for different periods, including suspension and demotion in pay grade. The IRD gazette further states that the punished officials filed appeals seeking pardon and the President accepted their appeals while ordering the cancellation of the penalties.

After the Revenue Policy and Revenue Management Ordinance, 2025 was issued on 12 May 2025, NBR officials and employees staged protests against it for around one and a half months. By the end of June that year, work had come to a halt at customs and tax offices across the country. Revenue collection came under threat at the end of the fiscal year.

For several consecutive days during that period, work remained suspended at all customs and tax offices across the country, including the NBR headquarters in the capital. Such an occurrence had never happened before in the NBR’s history. Alongside sit-in programmes across the country, rallies and demonstrations were also held. The entire revenue sector was brought to a standstill.

At one point, NBR officials and employees suspended the movement following mediation by business leaders. Subsequently, various disciplinary measures, including dismissal and transfers, were taken against NBR officials over their involvement in the movement.