The government formed an inter-ministerial committee on Wednesday to assess the economic losses caused by the protests and complete shutdowns of employees in the customs, VAT, and tax departments under the National Board of Revenue.
According to a notification issued by the Internal Resources Division under the finance ministry, the nine-member聽committee would assess the revenue loss incurred due to the closure of the Chattogram Customs House for two days on June 28-29.
Moreover, the committee would also estimate the revenue loss caused by the protests of customs, VAT, and tax department employees across the country over the past two months.
This would also include the impact on all Customs, Excise, and VAT Commissionerates, Customs Houses, Customs Bond Commissionerates, and other associated departments, including the Customs, Excise, and VAT (Appeal) Commissionerates.
The notification stated that the committee would determine the overall economic damage caused by the prolonged protests, with a particular focus on the loss of customs processing and the disruptions in import-export activities at all land and sea ports.
The committee is instructed to submit a detailed report outlining the findings within the next 30 days.
The committee named Syed Rabiul Islam, joint secretary, IRD, as its chairperson.
The members included representatives from the finance division, the Ministry of Commerce, the Ministry of Industries, the Chattogram Port Authority, the NBR, the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association, and the IRD.
A representative from the Federation of Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce and Industry will serve as the member secretary.
NBR officials had held protest programmes against the restructuring of the revenue board, and their protests intensified after the interim government introduced the Revenue Policy and Revenue Management Ordinance 2025 on May 12.
The splitting led to protests, including pen-down strikes, sit-ins, and non-cooperation, for nearly one and a half months.
Moreover, the NBR officials conducted a march to the NBR and a 鈥榗omplete shutdown鈥� on June 28-29, disrupting business and revenue collection.
The protests severely hampered customs operations and cargo clearance processes, resulting in a large number of container-laden trucks being stranded outside the port gates and congestion in the jetty yards.
Moreover, it also hindered revenue collection and export-import activities in the final month of the 2024-25 financial year.
In a press conference held on June 28, Mahmud Hasan Khan Babu, president of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association, stated that a complete shutdown of operations disrupted import and export activities worth approximately Tk聽2,500 crore each day, thereby accelerating the risk of losing orders.
The businesses also expressed concerns on many occasions that the protests occurred at a time when they were already struggling due to economic pressure from both domestic and international sources, as well as聽a US tariff issue.
In response to the complete shutdown, the interim government declared NBR services 鈥榚ssential,鈥� leading to the withdrawal of protests on June 29, following negotiations among the government, businesses, and the protesting officials.
Since then, the government has taken stern measures against the protesting officials for disrupting revenue collection and defying governmental orders.
So far, 23 NBR officials have been suspended, four have been sent into retirement, and the Anti-Corruption Commission has launched investigations against 16 officials in three phases.
NBR officials said that the suspension of a considerable number of officials spread shock and panic among NBR officials, as they had been in unease since June 29, when their protests ended.