The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has requested the detailed statements of wealth and liabilities from 17 senior officials of National Board of Revenue (NBR).
The decision was approved at the ACC headquarters in Dhaka recently, ACC Director General Md Akhter Hossain announced at a press briefing. He said the officials have been directed to submit their statements under Section 26(1) of the Anti-Corruption Commission Act, 2004, and Rule 17 of the ACC Rules, 2007. The 17 officials include tax commissioners, customs commissioners, and senior revenue officers from different wings of the NBR.
According to ACC sources, the officials include NBR member Md Lutful Azim; former additional director general (CIC) Md Alamgir Hossain; Joint Commissioner Md Tariq Hasan; Additional Commissioner Sadhan Kumar Kundu; Commissioner Kazi Md Zia Uddin of the Customs, Excise and VAT Commission; Commissioner Md Kamruzzaman of Railway Customs; Additional Commissioner Abdur Rashid Mia of the VAT Commissionerate, Large Taxpayer Unit; Deputy Commissioner Mohammad Shihabul Islam and Deputy Commissioner Monalisa Sharin Susmita of Tax Zone-16; Additional Commissioner Mirza Ashiq Rana of Tax Zone-8; Joint Commissioner Mohammad Morshed Uddin Khan of BCS Tax Academy; member (Income Tax Policy) AKM Badiul Alam; Additional Commissioner Hasan Tarek Rikabdar of the Audit, Intelligence and Investigation Department (Value Added Tax); Additional Commissioner Mohammad Mamun Mia; Additional Commissioner Sahela Siddique of the Intelligence Unit; Commissioner Lokman Ahmed of the Tax Appellate Tribunal; and Commissioner MM Fazlul Haque of Tax Zone-3.
Last month, the ACC had already launched investigations into these officials following multiple complaints. The allegations state that some revenue officers colluded with business owners to evade taxes and duties in exchange for hefty bribes, depriving the government of significant revenue each year.
Sources also alleged that some officials fabricated tax-evasion cases against business owners who refused to pay bribes, while others extorted kickbacks from taxpayers seeking refunds of excess tax payments. Reports further suggest that a portion of refunded tax money was siphoned off by responsible officers.
According to the complaints, these officials, during their postings at various customs, VAT, and income tax stations, abused their positions to facilitate tax evasion, engage in nepotism, and accumulate wealth beyond their known sources of income.
PT/ra
