Staff Correspondent

The National Board of Revenue (NBR) has been abolished and two new divisions have been created to look after the revenue matters of the country.

An ordinance in this regard was issued on Monday  midnight with strict secrecy.

The organisation has been divided and two divisions named Revenue Policy and Revenue Management have been created.

The interim government has issued the much-discussed 'Revenue Policy and Revenue Management Ordinance', ignoring the opinions of BCS Income Tax and Customs cadre officers.

The ordinance issued on Monday (May 12) night has made minor changes only in the scope of work of the Revenue Policy Department.

The administrative posts of the Revenue Management Department have been kept by the administration cadre officers as well as the income tax and customs cadre officers.

The ordinance states that the Revenue Policy Division will monitor the implementation of tax laws and the tax collection situation. 

The Revenue Management Division will do the main work of revenue collection.

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 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 to the 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 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 law states.