National Board of Revenue
Profile
- Head
- Md. Abdur Rahman Khan
- Role
- Chairman
- Annual budget
- —
- Staff
- —
- Established
- 1972
- Legal basis
- National Board of Revenue Order, 1972 (President's Order No. 76 of 1972), as amended by Act No. 12 of 2009; repealed the Central Revenue Board Act 1924 (Act No. 4 of 1924); Revenue Policy and Revenue Management Ordinance 2025 (promulgated 12 May 2025 under Constitution Article 93(1)) nominally replaces this order but requires a separate gazette notification to take effect -- not yet issued as of 2026-05-17
The NBR is currently facing the significant challenge of balancing aggressive revenue mobilization targets with the need to control inflation and avoid placing excessive tax burdens on essential goods.
Recent activity
- 2026-04-21 regulation NBR Chairman directed officials to take strict action against irregularities in the online VAT return submission process. ↗
- 2026-04-23 statement NBR Chairman ruled out immediate tax cuts, emphasizing the need to widen the tax net and strengthen refund management. ↗
- 2026-05-16 reform NBR Chairman announced plans for a faceless digital tax system, including AI-driven audits and personalized taxpayer dashboards. ↗
- 2026-05-16 regulation NBR announced plans to implement strict monitoring in the tobacco sector using counting cameras, QR codes, and advanced revenue stamps. ↗
Provenance & notes
NBR was established by Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman through President's Order No. 76 of 1972, repealing the Central Revenue Board Act 1924; it is a statutory authority attached to the Internal Resources Division (IRD) of the Ministry of Finance, and the IRD Secretary holds ex-officio chairmanship of NBR. Md. Abdur Rahman Khan (FCMA, MA Accounting Chittagong University, MA Government Financial Management Ulster University UK; former UN International Advisor and World Bank Petroleum Tax Consultant in East Timor) was appointed on 15 August 2024, replacing Abu Hena Rahmatul Muneem whose contractual appointment was terminated the same day. The Revenue Policy and Revenue Management Ordinance 2025 (Article 93(1), 12 May 2025) nominally dissolves NBR along with IRD and creates two successor entities -- Revenue Policy Division (RPD) and Revenue Management Division (RMD) -- but requires a separate gazette notification which has not been published as of 2026-05-17; NBR therefore remains legally and operationally intact. The amended ordinance (2 September 2025) addressed the core cadre dispute: RPD secretary may come from any cadre with macroeconomic/trade/revenue expertise; RMD head must have revenue collection experience. A writ petition filed on 17 May 2025 by Supreme Court lawyer Jewel Azad before a High Court bench (Justices Fatema Najib and Sikder Mahmudur Razi) challenging the ordinance under Articles 26, 29(1), and 31 of the Constitution remains pending. The July-March nine-month shortfall figure of approximately Tk 1 lakh crore is corroborated by Bangladesh Pratidin (22 April 2026), The Daily Star, and banglamirrornews (Tk 98,000 crore cited separately for the same period -- rounding/data-cut difference). annual_budget_bdt and staff_count are null: NBR's own operational budget is not itemised separately from IRD in available primary sources; sanctioned post count for NBR's field offices and headquarters is not available in current public documents. Verification based on 2+ primary sources for all material claims.
Sources
- https://nbr.gov.bd/about-us/about-us/eng
- https://nbr.gov.bd/about-us/chairman-profile/eng
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Board_of_Revenue
- https://en.banglapedia.org/index.php/National_Board_of_Revenue
- http://bdlaws.minlaw.gov.bd/act-402.html
- https://www.newagebd.net/post/mis/242566/interim-govt-appoints-abdur-rahman-khan-nbr-chairman
- https://thefinancialexpress.com.bd/economy/bangladesh/abdur-rahman-khan-appointed-nbr-chairman
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- https://www.thedailystar.net/business/economy/news/nbr-split-caught-bureaucratic-wrangle-4099306
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- https://www.thedailystar.net/business/economy/news/nbr-misses-jul-feb-revenue-target-28-despite-growth-4135561
- https://www.imf.org/-/media/files/publications/cr/2026/english/1bgdea2026001-source-pdf.pdf
- https://www.imf.org/en/countries/bgd
- https://www.tbsnews.net/nbr/nbr-needs-collect-tk234-lakh-crore-more-3yrs-meet-imf-set-tax-gdp-ratio-580942
- https://www.tbsnews.net/nbr/nbr-gradually-rationalise-60-tariff-lines-2026-996826
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- https://www.thedailystar.net/business/news/fixing-the-tax-system-bangladesh-what-bnp-inherits-and-what-it-can-do-4167391
- https://nbr.gov.bd/uploads/publications/MLTRS_E_Book_Version.pdf