Tk 3.8 Million Bribe Allegation: NBR Commissioner Mitu Reinstated After Suspension Order Withdrawn

❐ Staff Reporter

Assistant Tax Commissioner Jannatul Ferdous Mitu, who was temporarily suspended for handing over confidential income tax documents to a lawyer in exchange for a bribe of Tk 3.8 million, has been reinstated to his post, but his sentence has been commuted and only his promotion has been suspended for 8 years.

On Thursday, September 2, the National Board of Revenue (NBR) announced that his temporary suspension order had been lifted through a notification issued on August 31.

The notification signed by National Board of Revenue (NBR) Chairman Ahsan Habib mentioned that Mitu was accused of accepting a bribe of Tk 3.8 million from a taxpayer named Salah Uddin Ahmed while he was on duty as Assistant Tax Commissioner in Circle-93 of Dhaka Tax Zone-5.

According to the complaint, in exchange for this large sum of money, he changed most of the information in the taxpayer’s original income tax documents and added new records.

Later, he handed over all the previous income tax returns, copies of orders, tax assessment documents, and necessary documents, including the appellate tribunal’s instructions, to the taxpayer’s authorized representative (lawyer) Obaidul Haque Sarkar and his assistant Sohel.

Due to such criminal behavior, a departmental case was filed against him and an apology was sought on two charges of ‘misconduct’ under Rule 3(b) of the ‘Government Servants (Discipline and Appeal) Rules, 2018’ and ‘corrupt practice’ under Rule 3(d).

Then, the accused officer filed a reply in his defense and requested a personal hearing, and the hearing was concluded on March 16 of this year. As there was evidence to support the allegations against him based on the preliminary investigation, an investigation officer was appointed to investigate the matter in depth.

The investigation report submitted after the investigation stated that although the allegations of ‘misconduct’ against Jannatul Ferdous Mitu were proven to be true beyond a reasonable doubt, the allegation of ‘corruption’ could not be proven 100 percent.

The notification detailed that after examining the investigation documents and all the elements of the departmental case, the accused officer has been found guilty of ‘misconduct’ under Rule 3(b) of the Government Servants (Discipline and Appeal) Rules, 2018, as per the nature of the offence.

Later, a final decision was taken to withhold his promotion for the next 8 years as a minor punishment, applying Section 4(2)(b) of the same rules.

With this, the temporary suspension order imposed on him was canceled. It is worth noting that he was dismissed from his duties on September 1, 2025.

Earlier on Monday, the Internal Revenue Department (IRD) issued a notification suspending him for handing over income tax documents in exchange for a bribe of Tk 3.8 million.