FBR dismisses employees’ union president

LAHORE
FEDERAL Board of Revenue Monday dismissed the Central President of Federal Revenue Alliance Employees Union on charges of misconduct with seniors as well as creating hurdles in the performing duties for colleagues.
The FRA unanimously passed a resolution against dismissal of the FRA Central President by the FBR management and threatened to go on strike for indefinite period.
According to the notification NO 0550-IR-IV/2015 dated February 23 2015, issued by revenue division of FBR notified his dismissal from service. ‘Disciplinary proceedings were initiated against Mian Abdul Qayyum, Inspector Inland Revenue Regional Tax office, Lahore vide charge-sheet dated 27-02-2014 and addendum dated 03-04-2015. His services were also placed under suspension from 04-03-2014.’
The notification stated that ‘An inquiry committee comprising Asim Ahmad, Commissioner IR, RTO-II Lahore, (Chairman) and Khalid Khan Additional Commissioner LTU Lahore (member) was constituted to probe into the matter. The committee had submitted its report on 13-05-2014. Eleven different charges were levelled against Abdul Qayyum in the charge-sheet by the tax officials, which were all proved by the two-member inquiry committee.
The notification stated that show-cause notice was served on FRA central president on 11-07-2014 while he submitted reply on 24-07-2014. However, Abdul Qayyum did not attend any hearing as he was given two chances to personally appear on September 8, and 22, 2014.
On his dismissal from service, the FRA Central Chairman claimed that the FBR had dismissed him by violating the court orders. ‘My dismissal is mainly for raising voice against corruption of high officials’, he said.
Meanwhile, the FRA emergent meetings held simultaneously at Regional Tax Offices in Lahore, Sialkot, Sukkur, Faisalabad, Multan and Bahawalpur strongly reacted to the dismissal orders. The meetings unanimously passed a resolution against the FBR management act and threatened to go on strike for indefinite period. Spokesman said that if this anti-worker act was not withdrawn, the protest would be extended to all over the country. He said Union’s Lahore Region General Secretary Shehzad Khurshid and President Syed Naeem Abbas had submitted the resolution with the major Chief Commissioners Inland Revenue, RTOs and the same resolution would be presented by the union’s regional leaders to Inland Revenue’s rest of the regional offices heads across the country tomorrow.
Union spokesman said the FBR Union executive bodies of major RTOs had sent the copies of resolution to the chief commissioners concerned, warning them to refrain from taking anti-workers step and withdraw the illegal order; otherwise, the entire staff of FBR would go on strike, closing each and every tax office in the country.
The rest of the Regional Tax Offices of Rawalpindi, Islamabad, Peshawar, Karachi and Quetta Customs have also called the meeting tomorrow (Wednesday) to condemn the dismissal. The spokesperson said that FBR Union, under the leadership of Abdul Qayyum, was not only working for the cause of lower staff of Tax Department but also endeavouring for the enhancement in tax collection by digging out corruption of billions of rupees.
‘The central president always raised the voice against tax evasion of several big companies, including so-called non-resident companies, which were evading billions of rupees tax for a long time in connivance with FBR’s own high officials. The crime of the union is just attempting to make the FBR a transparent tax collecting agency but the officials, having some vested interests, do not want this transparency.’
Spokesperson vowed that union, under the leadership of Abdul Qayyum, would continue struggle for the cause of workers and field staff, who actually make revenue target possible by their efforts, besides pointing out the revenue leakage due to corrupt officers.