Ahead of the budget preparation for the next fiscal year, the federal government has initiated punitive measures against Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) officials. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has reportedly orchestrated a major reshuffle due to dissatisfaction with FBR’s performance, particularly concerning issues like smuggling and Afghan transit trade.
In a recent notification, key FBR members, including Member Inland Revenue (Policy) and Member Customs (Operations), have been transferred to the Admin Pool of the Board. This includes 13 key Members/Director Generals and two Chief Commissioners Inland Revenue.
The reshuffle involves prominent officials such as Mukarram Jah Ansari, Shah Bano G.M Khan, Dr. Fareed Iqbal Qureshi, Tariq Mustafa Khan, Ahmad Rauf, Mirza Mubashir Baig, Hyder Ali Dharejo, Muhammad Azam Sheikh, Muhammad Saleem, Abdul Wahid Uqaily, Afaque Ahmed Qureshi, and Khurshid Ahmad Khan Marwat.
Furthermore, Asim Majid Khan, currently serving as Member (Legal-IR), has been reassigned as Member (Admin Pool), FBR, reportedly due to a complaint by a major tobacco company. Additionally, a new inquiry team chaired by the Secretary Finance has been formed to probe the failure of officers in implementing the Track and Trace System in four sectors.
Several rounds of transfers/postings have been announced for officers of Inland Revenue Service (BS-20-22) and Pakistan Customs Service (BS-20-22) in subsequent notifications.
