The National Board of Revenue (NBR) has been officially dissolved, making way for two newly formed divisions to oversee the country’s revenue operations.
An ordinance regarding this restructuring was issued on Monday night, maintaining a high level of confidentiality.
Under the new framework, NBR has been divided into the Revenue Policy Division and the Revenue Management Division.
Despite strong opposition from BCS Income Tax and Customs cadre officers, the interim government proceeded with the controversial 'Revenue Policy and Revenue Management Ordinance'.
While the ordinance was approved on May 12, it introduced only minor modifications to the scope of work within the Revenue Policy Department.
In the Revenue Management Department, key administrative positions have been allocated to officers from both the administration cadre and the income tax and customs cadre.
According to the ordinance, the Revenue Policy Division will monitor tax law implementation and collection trends, while the Revenue Management Division will handle revenue collection.
For weeks, NBR officials have protested against allowing administration cadre officers to hold key posts in the new divisions.
The law permits the government to appoint any qualified officer as secretary or senior secretary in the Revenue Policy and Revenue Management Divisions.
It also places the Customs, Excise and Value Added Tax Appellate Tribunal and the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal under the Revenue Policy Division within the Finance Ministry.
The interim government recently approved the draft law for NBR’s division.
Posts in the Revenue Policy Division will be filled by experts in income tax, VAT, customs, economics, business administration, research, audit, accounting, and legal affairs.
The law states that separating revenue policy formulation from revenue collection management is necessary.
The restructuring aims to enhance transparency, accountability, and efficiency in tax administration.
According to the ordinance, administrative positions in the Revenue Management Division will be filled from the Bangladesh Civil Service (Administration) cadre and Revenue Management Department employees.
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