Several hundred tax and customs officials staged a demonstration at the National Board of Revenue (NBR) headquarters in Dhaka today, demanding revisions to a draft ordinance that proposes dividing the board into two separate divisions and allowing top appointments from outside the revenue cadre.

The protest, held in the evening, originated from growing frustration among revenue officers over a clause in the proposed "State Policy and Revenue Management Ordinance, 2025".

It allows the government to appoint any eligible civil servant as secretary or senior secretary to the planned Revenue Policy Division and Revenue Management Division.

Shortly after the protest, protesting officials met NBR Chairman Abdur Rahman Khan, urging him to intervene and push for changes to the ordinance, according to several officials present at the meeting.

The draft was approved earlier this month by the council of advisers.

"We have demanded a revision to the draft ordinance, and its vetting at the law ministry must be halted," said a senior tax official on condition of anonymity.

Tax and customs cadre officials argued that the clause of the draft would risk placing the divisions under general bureaucratic control and could deny them leadership roles crucial to tax policy formulation and revenue collection.

The draft ordinance has been prepared in response to a recommendation from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), tied to its ongoing $4.7 billion loan programme.

The IMF has advised separating tax policy from administration as a means to enhance revenue generation and improve Bangladesh's tax-to-GDP ratio, currently among the lowest globally.

The ordinance is expected to be gazetted following vetting by the law ministry.

Earlier this week, both the BCS Taxation Association and the BCS (Customs and VAT) Association voiced their opposition to the proposed legislation, warning it could undermine the government's broader reform agenda.

Contacted, Kazi Mostafizur Rahman, president of the BCS (Customs and VAT) Association, said that the draft ordinance does not reflect the assurances previously given concerning the separation of powers.

He added that the NBR chairman had assured them of his intent to convey the concerns of revenue officials to the finance adviser.

Efforts to reach the NBR chairman for comment were unsuccessful at the time of filing this report.