Ahsan Habib Appointed Full-Fledged NBR Chairman

Habib was appointed acting NBR chairman on June 29. He is currently serving as a member of the NBR’s Tax Administration and Human Resources Management division

Md Ahsan Habib has been given full charge as chairman of the National Board of Revenue (NBR) and secretary of the Internal Resources Division, moving from his previous role as acting chairman to full-fledged leadership of the country’s principal tax authority.

The Ministry of Public Administration issued a notification on Monday appointing him on deputation as Secretary of the Internal Resources Division (IRD) and NBR Chairman under the President’s 10 percent quota provision.

According to the notification, the order has been issued in the public interest and will take immediate effect. It also stipulates that Habib must return to his parent cadre before retirement.

Habib was appointed acting NBR chairman on June 29. He is currently serving as a member of the NBR’s Tax Administration and Human Resources Management division.

A member of the BCS Taxation cadre, Habib succeeds Md. Abdur Rahman Khan in the top position. His appointment marks the first time an NBR official has been appointed chairman from within the organisation.

Before becoming an NBR member, Habib served as Director General of the Central Intelligence Cell (CIC) during the interim government. In that role, he led investigations into alleged tax evasion by several major business groups considered close to the ousted Awami League government.

He also oversaw extensive investigations into alleged tax evasion and money laundering involving political figures and their families, senior bureaucrats and 12 corporate groups. The investigations reportedly uncovered tax evasion involving hundreds of crores of taka, bringing him into the spotlight.

Ahsan Habib obtained his bachelor's and master's degrees from the Department of Geology at the University of Dhaka. He joined government service by securing second place in the national merit list in the tax cadre of the 15th BCS.

In his professional career, he has demonstrated excellence in training at the BCS (Tax) Academy and BPATC. In addition, he has received advanced training on tax audit, investigation, and digitalization in India, Malaysia, the Philippines, and various European countries.

He has also worked as a resource person at various institutions, including the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) and the BCS (Tax) Academy.