Clemency for 21 NBR officials
President Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir has granted clemency to 21 National Board of Revenue officials who faced disciplinary penalties over their roles in last year’s protests demanding reforms in the revenue administration, accepting their appeals for pardon.
The Internal Resources Division (IRD) of the Finance Ministry issued separate gazette notifications on Sunday confirming the presidential decision.
The disciplinary action stemmed from the officials’ involvement in protests in June 2025against the Revenue Policy and Revenue Management Ordinance, 2025.
Some officials publicly tore up transfer orders during the unrest, while others took organisational roles or joined the protests by keeping their offices closed.
The authorities had classified such conduct as misconduct under the Government Servants (Conduct) Rules, 1979, and the Government Servants (Discipline and Appeal) Rules, 2018.
The protests began after the then interim government issued the ordinance on May 12.
The movement continued for around six weeks and eventually disrupted operations at customs and tax offices across the country.
For several consecutive days in late June, work remained suspended at customs and tax offices nationwide, including the NBR headquarters in Dhaka.
The shutdown was unprecedented in the revenue authority’s history and came at a critical point in the fiscal year as the government sought to meet its revenue collection targets.
The movement, organised under the banner of the NBR Reform Unity Council, involved sit-ins, marches and rallies across the country.
Revenue-sector activities were brought to a standstill until the officials called off the protests following mediation by business leaders.
Clemency appeals accepted
The IRD said the officials subsequently submitted formal appeals seeking clemency. The president has now accepted those appeals and waived the disciplinary penalties imposed on them.
The decision effectively brings the disciplinary proceedings against the 21 officials to an end, although the original conduct had been treated as a breach of the rules governing government employees.
The officials receiving presidential clemency are Commissioner (Current Charge) Md Zakir Hossain; Joint Commissioners of Taxes Morshed Uddin Khan, Masuma Khatun, Md Mamun Mia, Monalisa Shahreen Sushmita and Md Sanwarul Kabir; Additional Commissioners of Taxes Murad Ahmed, Mirza Ashiq Rana, Hasan Muhammad Tarek Rekabdar, Sifat-e-Mariam, Sultana Habib, Chand Sultana Chowdhurany, AAM Amimul Ehsan Khan and Sadhan Kumar Kundu; Deputy Commissioners Imam Tauhid Hasan Shakil, Md Zillur Rahman, Mohammad Saidul Islam, Mohammad Shihabul Islam and Md Shahadat Jamil; and Revenue Officers Sobuj Mia and Shafiul Boshr.
IRD sources said three more officials could be added to the list, as they have also submitted appeals seeking presidential clemency.
Balancing discipline and clemency
The presidential decision comes against the backdrop of a wider debate over administrative discipline, the right of public servants to express grievances and the need to ensure uninterrupted delivery of essential state services.
While the disciplinary proceedings were initiated on the grounds that the officials had breached established conduct and disciplinary rules, the acceptance of their appeals represents the exercise of presidential clemency after the officials formally sought pardon.
The episode also underscores the importance of maintaining institutional discipline within revenue agencies, particularly where disruptions can directly affect customs operations, tax administration and government revenue collection.
At the same time, the clemency decision provides a formal avenue for resolving the disciplinary cases without leaving the affected officials subject to the original penalties.
