FBR reshuffles top members of tax machinery

ISLAMABAD: In a major jolt to tax machinery, the FBR on Friday made key changes by reshuffling top members of tax machinery at a time when the IMF-stalled programme under $6 billion Extended Fund Facility (EFF) could be revived with improved performance of revenue mobilisation.

Two key officials were reshuffled including Member IR Policy Dr Hamid Ateeq Sarwar and second Special Assistant to Chairman Malik Amjad Zubair Tiwana.

Six key members of FBR reshuffled into FBR in latest jerk as Members Inland Revenue Policy, Member Administration, Member Facilitation and Taxpayer Education (FATE), Member Human Resource Management (HRM) and Member Strategic, Planning, Reforms and Statistics were changed.

As the government brought Javed Ghani as new Chairman FBR as stop gap arrangement up to three months period, the FBR has made key changes at Members and one of the key appointment was posting out of FBR’s Member Inland Revenue (IR) Policy Dr Hamid Ateeq Sarwar and appointed him as Member Strategic Planning, Reforms and Statistics (SPR&S). However, Dr Hamid Ateeq Sarwar may prefer to get any appointment outside the FBR fold. The post of FBR’s Member IR Policy is considered one of the key positions for finalizing IMF modalities on behalf of the FBR.

Now the FBR has appointed Ch Mohammad Tarique BS-21 officer as Member IR Policy after transferring him from Chief Commissioner IR Regional Tax Office Sialkot. Earlier, during the tenure of former Chairman FBR Shahbar Zaidi, Ch Mohammad Tarique was transferred from RTO Faisalabad during the last financial year.

“The recent changes into FBR are quite shocking as it demonstrates that the approach of status quo has fully gripped the tax collection machinery” one top official said and added that all this was happening when the FBR was assigned to achieve highly ambitious tax collection target of Rs 4963 billion for the current fiscal year against 3983 billion, requiring growth of over 23 percent.

With latest reshuffle into FBR, one official commented that it seemed that the team of Member IR Operation Muhammad Ashfaque was in place as he had emerged as the most powerful man into ranks of FBR after the Chairman FBR.

According to notification issued by the FBR here on Friday, the FBR’s member (Admin) Dr Faiz Illahi Memon who was brought by the former Chairperson Nausheen Javaid into this position now he was posted as Director General (Special Initiative), Karachi. Bakhtiar Muhammad posted as new member (Admin) as earlier he was working as member (FATE), FBR (Hq).

The newly appointed member (Admin) FBR (Hq) Islamabad, Bakhtiar Muhammad, a BPS-21 of IRS has assumed the charge by relinquishing the charge of member (FATE), said a separate notification of the FBR.

Hafiz Muhammad Ali Indhar, BPS-22 officer of IRS is transferred from member (Strategic Planning Reforms & Statistics), FBR (Hq) to member HRM.

The notification further said that Dr Lubna Ayub posted as Chief Commissioner RTO, Quetta from member FBR (Hq) and Ms Ambreen Iftikhar posted as member Reforms & Modernization FBR (Hq) from member HRM, FBR (Hq) and Sajidullah Siddiqui DG (Retail) FBR (Hq) from Chief Commissioner, Corporate RTO, Karachi.

Dr Aftab Imam posted again as Chief Commissioner, Corporate RTO, Karachi from Chief Commissioner, RTO, Quetta, Earlier, Aftab Imam had worked on the position of corporate tax unit Karachi during the tenure of former Chairman FBR Shahbar Zaidi last financial financial year. Tariq Mustafa Khan, who is serving Chief Commissioner, RTO, Gujranwala, also assigned additional charge of Chief Commissioner, RTO, Sialkot, said the notification.

Malik Amjad Zubair Tiwana posted as Commissioner, Large Taxpayer Unit (LTU) Islamabad from SA to secretary Revenue, Chairman FBR (Hq) and Naveed Khalid Khan posted as SA to Secretary Revenue/Chairman FBR (Hq) Islamabad, the notification concluded.