A high-stakes meeting between Bangladesh’s interim government advisers and striking revenue officials ended without resolution on Tuesday, as the administration held firm on its plan to bifurcate the National Board of Revenue (NBR), officials confirmed.

Finance Adviser Dr Salehuddin Ahmed, leading the government delegation, reaffirmed support for the presidential ordinance issued on 12 May, which seeks to split the NBR into two separate divisions—Revenue Management and Revenue Policy.

He insisted the decision is aligned with broader economic reforms, including International Monetary Fund (IMF) recommendations.

Though Dr Ahmed assured that officials’ concerns would be addressed during the rule-framing stage after the national budget rollout on 2 June, he made it clear that the ordinance will not be repealed. “It doesn’t matter what NBR officials are saying or not. At the implementation stage, we will try to address their concerns,” he said.

The meeting at the Secretariat included energy and environment advisers, representatives from the NBR reform advisory committee, and 20 NBR officials. However, several participants expressed frustration, saying they were not given the opportunity to present their cases fully.

Discontent escalated as hundreds of striking officials gathered at the NBR headquarters in Agargaon following the unproductive talks. They vowed to continue the pen-down protest, which has disrupted tax collection, trade activities, and port operations nationwide.

Their key demands include repealing the ordinance, making the reform committee’s report public, and ensuring stakeholder consultation in any NBR restructuring.