admin
Finance Adviser Dr Salehuddin Ahmed on Tuesday confirmed that the National Board of Revenue (NBR) will remain divided into two separate entities—Tax and Customs—putting to rest any lingering confusion about the move. He said the decision, rooted in national, public, and business interests, is final and will not be reversed.
Speaking to reporters following a meeting with cadre officials at the Secretariat, Dr Salehuddin stated, “Officials have been clearly informed that the NBR split will remain in effect. All previous misconceptions have been addressed.”
He acknowledged that while the structural separation has been decided, there are several implementation phases ahead. During this time, the government will assess how many of the officials’ demands can be integrated into the process.
“We will try to incorporate their concerns as much as possible while drafting the new rules and regulations for the two departments,” he said. However, he added that no further formal meetings would be held on the matter. “There is already an advisory committee. Going forward, officials will communicate with that committee,” he noted.
When asked about the effectiveness of Tuesday’s meeting, Dr Salehuddin said, “Yes, the meeting was fruitful.” Regarding the timeline for full implementation, he emphasized that a gazette notification must be issued first, and significant groundwork remains. He made it clear the process would not be completed before the upcoming budget, set to be presented on June 2.
On the question of whether the ongoing protests by NBR officials will end, Dr Salehuddin remarked, “We’ve asked them to withdraw their movement. Whether they do or not is their decision.”
NBR Chairman Md Abdur Rahman Khan echoed the Finance Adviser’s remarks, stating that the advisers and the finance ministry had listened to the officials’ concerns and would now proceed with further actions.
The meeting was attended by Energy Adviser Dr Muhammad Fouzul Kabir Khan, Environment and Forest Adviser Syeda Rezwan Hasan, and senior officials from the Ministry of Finance and NBR.
The government formally announced the split of the NBR into two wings—Revenue Policy and Revenue Administration—via a gazette notification issued on May 12. The move was met with strong resistance from officials within the tax and customs cadres, who argued that the new structure sidelines their roles and places them under excessive control.
As part of their protest, many officials participated in a pen-down strike in recent days.
In a press release, the Ministry of Finance stated that representatives from the Revenue Reform Advisory Committee, as well as officials from the BCS (Tax) and BCS (Customs and Excise) cadres, presented their views on the proposed ‘Revenue Policy and Revenue Administration Ordinance, 2025’ during the meeting. Their concerns and suggestions were heard with due importance, and the Finance Adviser assured that these would be taken into consideration during the formulation of new policies.
