A bureaucrat who didn’t file any tax return in 10 years

ISLAMABAD: The Establishment Division has written a letter to a bureaucrat who had not filed his income tax returns for the last ten years, directing him to submit returns from 2013 to 2023 to the Establishment Division within 15 days.

In a letter written by Section Officer Discipline Wing Sania Saeed on May 6, 2014, the attention of Deputy Secretary, Ministry of Housing and Construction, Saeed Ahmad Malik, was drawn to Rule 12 of the Government Servants (Conduct) Rules, 1964, which requires every government servant to submit a statement of income and assets at the end of every financial year as per the prescribed form. Failure to comply with this order falls under Rule 2 of the Civil Servants (Efficiency and Discipline) Rules, 2020, and action can be taken against such an officer, it added. The letter added, “Further, under Rule 7 of the Civil Servants Promotion Rules, in case of non-submission of declaration of income and assets, the promotion of an officer can be deferred. You have not submitted your annual returns of income and assets from 2013 to 203 as per the records of the Establishment Division.” When contacted, Saeed Ahmad Malik said the delay was due to some official engagements and he had submitted his returns on Tuesday.