The New Nation - Internet Edition

UNB, Dhaka

The appointment of new lawyers for the National Board of Revenue (NBR) is underway for quick disposal of its pending cases, especially the ones filed under the Emergency Power Rules (EPRs).

NBR sources said the number of the cases relating to customs duty, Vat and income tax pending in different courts would be around 15,000.

"More than Tk 1500 crore remains stuck as the cases remain unresolved," Dr Md Rafiqul Islam, Member (Board Admin), told UNB.

There are presently 12 private lawyers assisting the NBR to settle various cases in the courts. "Most of the cases are customs duty-related ones," the NBR official said.

There are currently seven retainer lawyers working for the NBR to assist it in dealing with the pending cases. Besides, there are some eminent lawyers like Dr M Jahir, Mahmudul Islam and Barrister Razzak dealing with the special NBR cases.

Justifying the appointment of new lawyers, Dr Md Rafiqul Islam said new cases continued to come in, especially under EPR. "There are some cases coming from the Anti-Corruption Commission and the Taskforce against serious crimes and corruption. "So, we need 8-10 panel lawyers for that purpose only," he said.

Since NBR is a government organization, the attorney general office is supposed to deal with the NBR cases.

"But they have many other duties. They have to deal with all the government cases. It's really hard for them to give special attention to NBR cases," the official added.

"So", the official said, "The NBR has decided to raise the number of its private lawyers, as the government emphasizes the need for better revenue collection."

"If we can win these cases, it'll be a great relief for us to achieve our target," the NBR official said.

This year's (2007-08) target for revenue collection is Tk 43,850 crore.