Officials and employees of the National Board of Revenue (NBR) began their prescheduled pen-down strike and sit-in protest at the agency's headquarters in Dhaka on Monday morning, demanding "logical reforms" and the removal of its current chairman.

The demonstration, organised by the NBR Reform Unity Council, began at 9 am with participants symbolically donning white shrouds — a gesture they said reflected the “death” of reform efforts under the current leadership.

At a press conference on Saturday, the Council announced the three-hour protest, criticising what it described as the slow pace and lack of inclusivity in the government's reform initiatives.

Hasan Muhammad Tarek Rikabdar, President of the council and an additional commissioner, along with General Secretary and additional tax commissioner Sehela Siddiqua, reiterated calls for "rational and inclusive" reforms within the NBR.

They accused the NBR Chairman of obstructing reforms and reiterated their earlier declaration of him as “persona non grata” at the revenue board.

The protest comes amid growing discontent over the government's May 12 ordinance abolishing the NBR and the Internal Resources Division (IRD), replacing them with two new bodies — the Revenue Policy Division and the Revenue Management Division.

As part of ongoing discussions, the government on Monday formed a six-member committee to amend revenue ordinances. However, the Reform Unity Council has strongly criticised the move, saying the committee lacks representation from their platform and was formed without prior consultation.

The exclusion of reform council representatives renders the process undemocratic and one-sided, the council said in a statement.

Since the ordinance was issued, NBR officials aligned with the council have been staging various protest programmes demanding greater transparency and participation in the reform process.

SMS/