The protesters have announced the withdrawal of all ongoing programs of the National Board of Revenue (NBR), including the complete shutdown. They made the announcement after a meeting with the leaders of a delegation of top businessmen of the country at the office of Bangladesh Chamber of Industries (BCI) in the capital's Tejgaon on Sunday night.

BCI President Anwar-ul-Alam Chowdhury Parvez and NBR Reform Unity Council President and Additional Commissioner Hasan Muhammad Tareq spoke on behalf of the businessmen.

At the press conference, NBR Reform Unity Council President Hasan Muhammad Tareq said that all programs, including complete shutdown of NBR, have been withdrawn with the assurance of solving the problem through the mediation of the advisory committee and businessmen.

Former FBCCI president Mir Nasir Hossain, BGMEA president Mahmud Hasan Khan, country's leading leather goods manufacturer and exporter Apex Footwear managing director and former president of Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and Industry Syed Nasim Manzur, NBR Reform Unity Council Vice-President Mirza Ashik Rana, among others, were present at the press conference.

Formation of Committee

Earlier, a committee comprising five advisers of the interim government was formed to quickly resolve the crisis caused by the movement of NBR officials. The decision was taken at a meeting of the Advisory Council of the interim government.

Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Adviser Muhammad Faozul Kabir Khan will act as the chairman of the committee. The other members are Housing and Public Works Adviser Adilur Rahman Khan, Labour and Employment Adviser Brigadier General (retd) M Sakhawat Hossain, Environment, Forest and Climate Change Adviser Syeda Rizwana Hasan and Commerce Adviser Sheikh Bashiruddin.

On May 12, the government issued an ordinance abolishing the National Board of Revenue (NBR) and the Internal Resources Division (IRD) into two divisions namely Revenue Policy and Revenue Management Division. Since then, the NBR Reform Unity Council of the officials and employees of the Board of Revenue has held various programs in protest.

The overall activities of the NBR, including the import and export of goods, have been deadlocked since Saturday due to the complete shutdown program of the officials and employees. Due to the program called by the NBR Reform Unity Council, duty-tax collection activities were stopped at all land port customs stations of the country including NBR Bhaban in Dhaka, Chittagong Port, Dhaka Customs House, Benapole, Sonamasjid, Akhaura, Burimari. Import-export activities came to a standstill.