Staff Correspondent

The officers and employees of "Customs, VAT and Income Tax" have formed "NBR Unity Council" to campaign for their demands for NBR reforms.

The officers and employees took this decision on Monday after holdig a marathon meeting at NBR conference room.

As per the decision, a "sit-in programme will take place in front of NBR for Tuesday at 2:45pm.

The NBR officials have been agitating for couple of weeks demanding removal of the scope to appoint admin cadres in a proposed new law which will spit the NBR into Revenue Policy Division and Revenue Management Division.

According to the draft law, the government will be able to appoint any suitably qualified government officer to the post of secretary or senior secretary of the new revenue policy and management divisions.

Even the Customs, Excise and Value Added Tax Appellate Tribunal and the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal will be attached with departments of this Revenue Policy Division under the finance ministry.

The interim government recently approved the draft law to divide NBR into Revenue Policy Division and Revenue Management Division.

As per the draft law, various posts in the Revenue Policy Division will be filled by officers with experience in income tax, value added tax, customs, economics, business administration, research and statistics, administration, audit and accounting, and legal work.

It said that It is necessary to separate the government's revenue policy formulation activities and revenue collection management activities.

The proposed law mentioned it is appropriate and necessary to establish a Revenue Policy Division and a Revenue Management Division by restructuring the existing structure to increase transparency, accountability, and dynamism of revenue collection activities.

“Various posts in the administrative division of the Revenue Management Division will be filled from the Bangladesh Civil Service (Administration) cadre and employees working in the Revenue Management Department,” the proposed law stated.