President Grants Pardon, Lifts Punishments for 20 NBR Officials
Twenty officials from the National Board of Revenue (NBR) have received a presidential pardon. Their punishments for protesting against revenue sector reforms last year have now been cancelled. This decision brings relief to the officials and concludes a long-standing issue.
The President accepted their appeals seeking forgiveness. He ordered that their penalties be withdrawn. The Internal Resources Division (IRD) has already published a gazette notification about this. This official notice makes the pardon effective immediately.
These NBR officials were punished for their actions during a protest movement. This movement took place last year. They were demanding changes in the revenue sector. During these protests, some officials publicly tore up their transfer orders.
This act violated the Government Servants’ Conduct Rules. Some officials also played a key role in organizing the protests. Others joined by keeping their offices closed. These actions were officially deemed misconduct.
The protests started after a new law was introduced. This was the Revenue Policy and Revenue Management Ordinance, 2025. NBR staff protested for about one and a half months against this ordinance. Work stopped at tax and customs offices nationwide. Collecting government revenue became very difficult.
For several consecutive days, all customs and tax offices were shut. This included the NBR headquarters in the capital. Such a widespread halt had never happened before in NBR history. Staff held sit-ins and rallies across the country. The entire revenue sector came to a standstill.
Business leaders later helped to stop the movement through mediation. Afterwards, many disciplinary actions were taken against NBR officials. These included suspensions and demotions in pay grade. Now, the President has cancelled these specific penalties for 20 officials.
The pardoned officials include a Commissioner, several Additional Tax Commissioners, Joint Tax Commissioners, Deputy Tax Commissioners, and Revenue Officers. Departmental investigations had confirmed their involvement in the protests. They were punished under the Government Servants’ Conduct Rules, 1979, and the Government Servants (Discipline and Appeal) Rules, 2018.
