FBR chairman seeks early retirement

ISLAMABAD: Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) Chairman Amjad Zubair Tiwana has sought early retirement and given two-weeks notice to relieve his charge, it is learnt.

Tiwana, an Inland Revenue Service (IRS) officer in grade 21, was going to retire from the service in February 2025. He has conveyed to the government in writing that he wanted to relieve his post and would be seeking early retirement.

Top official sources close to the PM’s office confirmed to The News that the pace of reforms, including digitalisation, in the FBR was not desirable. The sources said that Tiwana had met Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and PM’s close aide on Establishment Division Ahad Cheema and informed him verbally that he could not continue to head the FBR.

Now he has written to the PM Office that he could not continue his assignment, so the government should appoint someone of its choice. The FBR high-ups told The News that the tax officers made all-out efforts to convince Tiwana for not sending his request to the government for relieving his charge but he refused.

Sources close to the FBR chairman say that the tax machinery fetched Rs9,311 billion revenue during the last fiscal year by achieving 30 percent growth in revenues despite difficult economic environment. Tiwana had to face criticism on the issue of digitisation and bifurcation between IRS and Customs groups.

This scribe sent out question to the FBR chairman for seeking his views regarding request for early retirement but he did not reply.