Leaders of two associations of income tax and customs and VAT reached a consensus Tuesday to separate the policy wing from the implementation wing of the National Board of Revenue (NBR) as recommended by the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
In a hurriedly called meeting, the BCS (Taxation) and BCS (Customs and VAT) associations agreed in principle to cooperate with the interim government by devising a strategy on how the reform can be done without affecting domestic revenue mobilisation, officials said.
A committee has been formed comprising leaders of the associations to suggest a draft ordinance along with organogram, Standard Operating Procedure, Job description, etc.
Tax officials attending the meeting said the report should be submitted before the association members by January 30.
BCS (Taxation) Association President Barrister Mutasim Billah Faruqui, a Commissioner of Taxes, said both of the cadres reached a consensus on separation of the policy and implementation wings of the NBR.
"It's the government's desire and we took it positively to enhance the capacity of the taxmen under the new structure," he said, adding that more scopes would be created for the taxmen in their career path to develop and contribute.
Taxation is a technical work that needs expertise and legal knowledge to assess impact of any law, he said.
However, he expressed concern over possible adverse impact on domestic revenue mobilisation in case the separation process sidelines taxmen.
BCS (Customs and VAT) Association President Kazi Mustafizur Rahman, who is the Member of Customs wing, said the stakeholders who have access to the NBR are the vital part of framing tax policies.
However, if the tax, vat and customs policy department shifted to the secretariat, small traders and marginal taxpayers may not get that access since there are some sorts of entry restrictions, he added.
"We are working to sort out the structure which would be implementable for the government, keeping revenue collection unharmed," he said.
Recently, the Cabinet has approved a proposal to separate the policy departments of NBR from the implementation.
Officials said the IMF, in its last review mission in December 2024, has strongly recommended the reform to boost the country's domestic revenue mobilisation.
However, the tax officials feared that the move might play like a boomerang if the government did not take cautious steps in this regard.
Any government should not conduct experiments that may threaten domestic revenue mobilisation for the sake of the country's financial security that relates to overall national security, they added.
Taxmen are different from other professions having a quasi-judicial power, the officials said.
They, however, opined that all recommendations of the IMF are not implementable in the Bangladesh context.
Until November, the tax revenue collection fell short of its target by 25 per cent with a negative growth of 2.62 per cent over the corresponding period last year.
The NBR is chasing to achieve Tk 4.80 trillion in revenue in the current fiscal year.
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