As part of a long-awaited restructuring, the National Board of Revenue (NBR) has proposed a nearly 47 percent increase in staff to operate two newly created divisions following the split of the tax authority.

Under the plan, the Revenue Policy Division and Revenue Management Division would together have 1,077 officials, up from the current 732, according to officials at the finance ministry.

The NBR submitted the manpower proposal to the finance ministry's Internal Resources Division (IRD) last week, as the interim government works to implement the reform during its tenure.

The proposal calls for a major expansion of the Revenue Policy Division, where staff would rise from 117 to 287 -- a 145 percent increase -- to strengthen research, policy development, and economic analysis.

Meanwhile, the Revenue Management Division, responsible for tax administration and enforcement, would grow by 28 percent, from 615 to 790 officials, with the aim of strengthening compliance, expanding the tax base, and reducing evasion.

The plan also includes the removal of several outdated positions, such as hardware engineer, statistical investigator, draftsman, terminal operator, punch card operator, record sorter, and despatch-rider, reflecting a shift toward a more modern, technology-driven revenue system.

"Some posts have become redundant over time and are no longer needed in today's operations," said a top finance ministry official. "We plan to replace them with new, specialised roles focused on technology and data-driven skills. Employees in the removed positions will be reassigned to other roles under the revised structure."

A major focus of the reform is expanding the NBR's information technology capacity. "Earlier, the IT wing had only 24 officials, or about 41, including support staff. We now propose increasing it to more than 100," the official said.

The goal is to create a professional IT wing with expertise in data mining, big data analytics, data security, and software development -- skills seen as essential for improving compliance and reducing tax evasion.

The reform also aims to strengthen policy research and statistical capacity within the Revenue Policy Division. "We are making the research wing much stronger," the official said.

A new grade-1 post, called Member, Revenue Policy and Economic Analysis, is being proposed and may be filled from within the civil service or externally. There will also be opportunities to recruit renowned economists, experienced accountants, and legal experts with long-standing experience in revenue-related work, the official added.

The government initially proposed the institutional separation through an ordinance in May this year, aiming to strengthen revenue governance and boost tax collection. However, the move faced resistance from NBR officials and employees, who protested, fearing that their professional interests would not be protected.

Following the unrest, the government introduced amendments and enacted the Revenue Policy and Revenue Management Ordinance, 2025, on September 1.

NBR Chairman and IRD Secretary Md Abdur Rahman Khan said yesterday that several procedural steps must be completed before manpower allocation for the two new divisions can be approved. A key requirement is amending the Allocation of Business and the Rules of Business, which define the legal authority of the new units.

"First, the Allocation of Business and the Rules of Business must be finalised," Khan said. "We are moving quickly. There is no lack of effort on our part, and we are not wasting time. Most of our work on this side is already done. But the government has a sequence of steps that must be followed."

He expressed hope that the split process could be completed during the interim government's tenure. "We have done extensive work and sent the final draft from our side. It is now with the Cabinet, and that process also takes time," he added.