A total of four senior officials of the National Board of Revenue (NBR) have been sent on retirement in the public interest.

The government went on the move two days after the NBR Reforms Oikya Parishad called off its protest programme, following a strong warning issued by the interim government just hours earlier.

The Internal Resources Division (IRD) issued separate notifications on Wednesday, sending Hossain Ahmed (Member, Customs Policy and ICT), Alamgir Hossain (Member), Md Abdur Rouf (Member, VAT Policy) and Tax Commissioner of Barishal, Shabbir Ahmed, on retirement.

As all four officials have already completed 25 years of their service, they need to go on retirement for the public interest, as read in the notifications.

The decision was taken under section 45 of the Government Service Act, 2018, however, they will receive all retirement benefits as per the government rules.

Earlier, the government issued a strong warning to the agitating officials and employees of the NBR, saying that it will be compelled to take a tough decision in the interest of the country’s overall economy and people if they do not immediately return to their respective duties.

The government has also announced a comprehensive restructuring plan for the NBR, aiming to overhaul the country’s struggling revenue system, which it describes as plagued by inefficiencies, irregularities and corruption.