Striking Bangladeshi tax officials end protest after government warning

By SM Najmus Sakib

DHAKA, Bangladesh (AA) - Protesting officials at Bangladesh’s National Board of Revenue (NBR) decided late Sunday to call off a strike that had brought trade to a standstill for a second day.

The officials announced their decision at a press conference in Dhaka after the transitional government declared that tax and customs jobs were "essential services" and warned of stern action if officials do not return to work.

The protests began after the government issued an ordinance on May 12 dissolving the NBR and the Internal Resources Division, replacing them with the Revenue Policy Division and the Revenue Management Division.

Port officials said about 38,000 containers remained stranded at Chittagong Port, the country’s key trade gateway, local news agency UNB reported.

Following the government’s ultimatum, the state’s Anti-Corruption Commission opened an investigation into six top NBR officials who were the key organizers of the strike over their alleged involvement in corruption and financial irregularities, including facilitating tax evasion for businesses in exchange for bribes, resulting in significant revenue losses for the government.

The interim government under Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus says reforms of government offices are among their priority since the administration of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was overthrown in August 2024 after a series of protests and ultimately a mass uprising led by students and supported by other opposition groups.

It said the biggest limitation in the implementation of development-oriented activities in the budget management is the weak revenue collection system. Revenue collection is much less than the needs of the state. The main reason for this are the various weaknesses, irregularities and corruption in revenue collection management.