The National Board of Revenue (NBR) has suspended nine additional senior officials on charges of obstructing government duties during recent protests staged by revenue officials.

An order signed on 18 August by Abdur Rahman Khan, secretary of the Internal Resources Division (IRD) and chairman of the NBR, said the suspensions were issued under Section 39(1) of the Government Service Act, 2018.

Those suspended include AAM Amimul Ehsan Khan, Additional Commissioner at Mongla Customs House; Sadhan Kumar Kundu, Additional Commissioner at Customs, Excise and VAT Commissionerate, Sylhet; Sanowarul Kabir, Joint Commissioner at Chattogram Customs, Excise and VAT Training Academy; Saidul Islam, Deputy Commissioner at Customs, Excise and VAT Commissionerate, Khulna; Sehela Siddiqua, Additional Commissioner and Secretary General of the NBR Reform Unity Council; Sultana Habib, Additional Commissioner of Taxes; Mesbah Uddin Khan; Joint Commissioner Mamun Miah; and Joint Commissioner Chand Sultana Chowdhurani.

This comes in addition to earlier actions against protesting officials, which saw 14 suspended and four sent into compulsory retirement.

According to the order, since the government issued the Revenue Policy and Revenue Management Ordinance on 12 May, some officials within customs, excise, VAT, and income tax departments obstructed colleagues from performing their duties by mobilising protests. It stated that work stoppages and forced gatherings at NBR headquarters disrupted revenue operations and even hampered import and export activities.

NBR officials had staged demonstrations in May and June in opposition to the government’s restructuring of the revenue board under the new ordinance. On 28 and 29 June, the protests escalated to the point of halting port operations. The demonstrations were later withdrawn after the government took a firm stance against the movement.