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Published : 26 May 2025, 02:55 PM
The NBR Reform Unity Council, a platform of tax officers, has set a 3-day deadline for the National Board of Revenue’s (NBR) chairman to resign.
“The current chairman of the National Board of Revenue must resign by May 29,” the protest platform said at a press conference on Monday.
The demand has been made as there is a “crisis in faith and trust in him”, they said.
Though protesters had demanded his removal for a long time, this is the first time a deadline has been set.
The protesters said that the “ongoing non-cooperation programme with the NBR chairman will continue as usual”.
They said, "We hope that, in the larger interest of the state and the people, the government will give full-time responsibility to an officer with knowledge, skills and practical work experience in tax-revenue policy formulation, tax-revenue collection and management to the post of chairman."
On the night of May 12, the government issued the “Revenue Policy and Revenue Management Ordinance, 2025” splitting the NBR.
From the next day onward, the staff of the country’s main revenue-collecting body carried out continuous programmes, including pen-down protests, sit-ins and work stoppages.
In the face of the movement, the finance ministry reversed its decision to abolish the NBR and promised to elevate it to the status of an “independent and specialised” department.
The ordinance will be amended accordingly by Jul 31. The ministry has promised that the matter will be finalised through discussions with the NBR, the advisory committee on revenue reforms and “important” stakeholders.
NBR officials and employees have withdrawn all programmes, including the strike, after the government assured them their demands would be met.
The protesters have now set a new deadline as their demand to remove the NBR chairman has yet to be met.
The demand to publish the recommendations of the advisory committee that made the NBR reforms on the website has yet to be implemented. As such, the protesters have again demanded that it be published “soon”.
The protest platform said, "The NBR Reform Unity Council hopes that the government will soon start discussions and make the necessary activities visible for the necessary amendments to the ordinance issued by Jul 31."
