Officials and employees of the National Board of Revenue (NBR) have launched a three-day pen-down strike, demanding the cancellation of an ordinance that mandates the division of the revenue board into two entities.

The strike, organized by the NBR Reform Unity Council, began on Wednesday (May 14), with employees across various tax zones and customs houses refusing to carry out their regular duties in protest.

Since the morning, officials skipped urgent work, signaling their opposition to what they describe as an unnecessary bureaucratic overhaul.

"We support genuine reforms, but dividing the NBR will only entangle the revenue system in bureaucratic red tape. What we need is real reform, not structural fragmentation," officials stated.

Additional Commissioner (Customs and VAT) Sadhan Kumar Kundu echoed these concerns, emphasizing the lack of stakeholder consultation in the reform process.

"We expected meaningful improvements, but the government has not engaged with stakeholders. The Revenue Reform Commission’s report should have been published and discussed before any decision was finalized," he told Banglanews.

On Tuesday (May 14), employees formally announced the three-day strike, with scheduled work stoppages from 10:00 am to 1:00 pm today, 10:00 am to 3:00 pm on Thursday, and 10:00 am to 3:00 pm on Saturday.

While most operations remain suspended, essential services, including international passenger processing, import-export activities, and budget-related transactions, will continue.

SMS/