Transfer of VAT member successful in curbing illegal cigarettes

The National Board of Revenue (NBR) member who was successful in curbing the cigarette menace has seen a slump in VAT collection, according to those concerned. They said that considering the statistics, the state should have rewarded him.

Through his inspired leadership, National Board of Revenue member (VAT Implementation and IT) Belal Hossain Chowdhury, who conducted more than 13,500 campaigns across the country, contributed to the collection of additional VAT of Tk 5,583 crore, including a record 102 percent growth in the cigarette sector in the July-September quarter. But later he faced transfer, OSD and ACC cases.

It is known that during his continuous campaign across the country during July-September 2025, the illegal cigarette syndicate was disoriented. Illegal cigarettes became scarce in the market. As a result, the sale of legal cigarettes increased and order was restored in the cigarette sector, one of the largest revenue generating sectors.

Meanwhile, he served in the first quarter of the 2025-26 financial year. He planned to increase VAT by fixing the system without increasing the tax rate and collect Tk 10,000 crore more from the cigarette sector in the entire financial year compared to the previous year.

After independence, the cigarette syndicate remained undetected. Due to the combing operation in the Hat Bazar Para neighborhood, he came under the wrath of various tobacco-related interest groups inside and outside the country. He worked selflessly and devotedly to enriching the state treasury at the risk of his life. As a reward, he was transferred on October 7, 2025. On the same day, the ACC filed a case against him based on an anonymous complaint in 2018.

It is known that at the request of the ACC, the NBR investigated 24 complaints from the same anonymous person in 2019 and found none of them to be true. Two days later, he became OSD.

According to his team colleagues in the VAT department, he could have remained in office if he had succumbed to the temptation and fear of the syndicate. According to them, becoming an OSD is a natural consequence of not bowing down to the patriotic, skilled and courageous officer like Belal Hossain Chowdhury.
In the first four months of July-October of the 2025-26 financial year, VAT collection in the cigarette sector was Tk 14,666.64 crore. In the same period of the previous 2024-25 financial year, the collection was Tk 8,508.08 crore. That is, revenue collection till October had increased by about 6,158.56 crore taka and the growth was 72%.

In the seven months after he became OSD, the collection in the cigarette sector decreased by Tk 422.39 crore and the growth was negative 1.58%. In the first quarter of his tenure, the growth was 102%. In May 2026, the collection was Tk 1,521.38 crore and the growth was negative 25%.