NBR strike: Trade thru ports halts on day 1

Import and export across the country ground to a halt yesterday as National Board of Revenue officials enforced a complete shutdown, defying the government's call to withdraw the strike and threats of disciplinary action.

The strike severely disrupted operations at customs, VAT, and income tax offices, further slowing revenue collection, which is already lagging well behind targets. This shortfall has increased the government's reliance on domestic borrowing.

As trade and business activities suffered, top chambers and major business leaders voiced concern and called for urgent government intervention. At a joint press briefing in Dhaka, representatives from key sectors, including garments, pharmaceuticals, leather, and textiles, urged the Chief Adviser's Office to intervene immediately.

They warned that the garment sector alone had incurred over $230 million in losses due to the disruption. Delays in customs clearance at seaports, airports, and land ports have stalled both the import of raw materials and the export of finished goods.

Exporters are now under pressure from international buyers. Many said the delay would result in them being forced to ship by air.

Rising air shipment costs and the exposure of export goods to damage from inclement weather at ports are compounding the crisis, they said.

Despite the turmoil, the government did not issue any new messages to protesters yesterday.

With export documentation and shipments coming to a halt, exporters are in serious trouble. Failure to ship goods on time could result in significant financial losses.

— Syed M Tanvir, managing director of Pacific Jeans

Multiple attempts by this correspondent to contact Finance Adviser Salehuddin Ahmed for comments were unsuccessful.

Along with the shutdown, the NBR Reform Unity Council, a platform of protesting officials, held their "March to NBR" programme. The council also urged Chief Adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus to step in, saying the crisis over NBR reforms must be resolved "in the greater interest of the state".

Their demands include the removal of NBR Chairman Abdur Rahman Khan and the withdrawal of transfer orders of five officials involved in earlier protests over an ordinance to abolish the NBR and to separate the tax policy from revenue collection.

After weeks of tension within the revenue administration, the government on May 25 said amendments to the ordinance would be finalised by July 31. The plan, issued through an official press release, pledged consultations with all relevant stakeholders, including the protesters. The finance ministry announced that the NBR would instead be transformed into a specialised, autonomous agency.

But alleged non-cooperation of the NBR chairman and the transfers of officials triggered a fresh wave of protest after Eid-ul-Azha holidays.   

Due to the work stoppage, customs valuation of goods has been suspended at ports, bringing trade to a standstill.

At Chattogram Custom House, the epicentre of the country's trade processing, operations remained suspended amid the indefinite shutdown. According to our Chattogram correspondent, service seekers faced immense suffering, and apparel exporters feared severe losses from missed shipment deadlines.

During a visit to the custom house, most offices were found deserted. Procedures for both import clearance and export shipments were suspended. Container handling at Chattogram Port came to a near standstill, with all customs activities, including assessment, physical examination, and sample verification, halted.

The port typically handles around 5,000 consignments daily. However, not a single consignment was cleared yesterday. Only export shipments that had completed assessment before the strike were allowed to be loaded onto vessels. Cleared import consignments, however, remained stuck as port gate customs officials refused to carry out mandatory scanning and inspection procedures.

Jewel Ahmed, operations manager at Nira Fashion, told The Daily Star, "A shipment of 12 containers carrying T-shirts was scheduled to depart for Singapore today [Saturday]. But now, we don't know how long this shutdown will last."

Syed M Tanvir, managing director of Pacific Jeans, said that while import clearance had been suspended in recent days, export activities were continuing before the shutdown.

"With export documentation and shipments coming to a halt, exporters are in serious trouble. Failure to ship goods on time could result in significant financial losses," he said.

Several importers and exporters, speaking anonymously, expressed frustration with the government and customs officials. They said the dispute over NBR reforms should be resolved through dialogue, not disruption.

"This kind of shutdown won't solve anything. Eventually, a resolution will come, but in the meantime, businesses are suffering the most," said one exporter.

"Importers can't clear their goods, and exporters are missing deadlines. These delays are causing significant financial losses And no one will be exempt from paying port demurrage," another trader added.

Mohammed Abul Hossain, proprietor of vegetable exporter Lee Enterprise, said 50–60 tonnes of fresh produce meant for Europe were ruined at Dhaka airport due to customs officers' strike.

"We couldn't get clearance. The entire shipment is now spoilt. We won't be able to export," he told The Daily Star over the phone.

Aminul Haque, vice-president of the Benapole Import-Export Association, said the strike "practically brought the entire port to a halt" and warned of a looming crisis for the national economy unless swift action is taken, reports our Benapole correspondent.

Importer Al Mamun said, "With the customs cargo section closed, Indian port users couldn't complete manifest entries or issue Car Passes."

Our Brahmanbaria correspondent reported a similar situation at Akhaura Land Port.

Trader Hasibul Hasan said no new consignments could be cleared for India due to the strike. Only pre-cleared shipments were dispatched.

Yesterday morning, 26 trucks crossed into India's Tripura state. Of these, 23 carried 92 tonnes of frozen fish, while three carried 66 tonnes of flour, all cleared on Friday.

Trade at Burimari Land Port in Lalmonirhat and Sonahat Land Port in Kurigram also stopped. Humayun Sawdagar, a trader at Burimari, said eight of his trucks were stranded at India's Changrabandha port.

"If I can't bring in the goods in time, I'll suffer huge losses," he said, adding that several export trucks were also stuck on the Bangladesh side.

At a press briefing yesterday, Hasan Muhammad Tarek Rikabdar, president of the protesters' council, said the "March to NBR" would continue nationwide today. He described the movement as non-political and driven by the spontaneous participation of revenue officials, aiming to serve "the people and the country".

"We're ready to meet the finance adviser any time to resolve the crisis," he said, reiterating demands for structural reform of the revenue system and removal of the NBR chairman.