The idea of splitting the National Board of Revenue (NBR) in half is not opposed. But in order to pass the Revenue Policy and Revenue Management Division Ordinance, guile was used. The Ordinance’s fundamental mistakes will be fixed. Simultaneously, a policy will be established to establish the requirements for senior officials and secretaries in these two divisions.

The customs and tax cadre officials will not be in charge, just as the administration cadre will not be. By introducing these essential adjustments, the administration hopes to begin the two divisions’ operations by December. This information was provided yesterday, Sunday, by the advisors for finance and power, energy, and mineral resources.

Yesterday, following a meeting with a delegation led by Johannes Jutt, the new Vice President of the World Bank for South Asia, at his office in the Ministry of Finance, Finance Advisor Dr. Salehuddin Ahmed informed reporters that the full implementation of the NBR’s division into two divisions will require some time. Nevertheless, the government aims to finalize this implementation by December.

The financial advisor added that an ordinance has been issued to divide the NBR into two divisions. However, due to objections raised regarding certain aspects of the ordinance, a five-member advisory committee is currently reviewing these issues. The ordinance will be revised based on the committee’s recommendations, and this initiative will be put into action.

On May 12, the National Board of Revenue (NBR) was split into two departments: Revenue Policy and Revenue Management, and an ordinance was enacted. This decision has led to protests from NBR officials and employees. In response, a five-member advisory committee was established on June 30, chaired by Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Advisor Fauzul Kabir Khan, to expedite business and trade, industry, ports, and revenue collection efforts.

During a press conference yesterday, Fauzul Kabir Khan discussed the committee’s progress, stating that the movement against this ordinance arose from conflicts between the administration cadre and other cadres. He noted that there were some clever tactics employed in the creation of the Revenue Policy and Revenue Management ordinance, which contains fundamental flaws. The committee will provide the financial advisor with solutions to these issues.

He mentioned that the committee will suggest corrections to the basic errors to ensure that neither the administration cadre nor the customs and taxation cadre dominates the two departments. Eligibility criteria will be determined for the appointment of secretaries and other senior officials.

Fauzul Kabir said, there will be no NBR. People laugh out loud when they hear the name of the organization. Some officials of the organization opposed the division of NBR into two parts, but now they have moved away from that situation. Responding to a question about how this ordinance was passed in the advisory council, Fauzul Kabir Khan said, “We have our own limitations. That is why the government has formed a five-member committee. Everyone makes mistakes. We also made mistakes. We are correcting it.’

Regarding the movement of NBR officials demanding the repeal of the Revenue Policy and Revenue Management Ordinance, Fauzul Kabir Khan said, it was a harmless movement. Later, it turned into an anti-government movement. The intention was to cause economic damage. There was an intention to hinder revenue collection.

Quoting a newspaper report, the advisor said, there is talk of a WhatsApp group. There, an anti-government stance has been created in the name of the movement. But the government has shown immense patience. Businessmen have also opposed allowing this movement to continue for so long. But even though the financial advisor wanted a solution through discussions, it did not work.

When asked by a journalist if the ACC was used to stifle the NBR movement, Fauzul Kabir responded that it wasn’t. This procedure was used earlier. We’re still taking action. “They are not children,” said Fauzul Kabir Khan in response to a question concerning the ongoing fear among NBR officials. At the start of the revolution, they were guaranteed. However, they have been demonstrating for the past two months. The government no longer trusts them. They must speed up revenue collection in order to win back trust.