Close to 450 FBR officers transferred in 3 months

New management continues to play musical chairs, questionable officials promoted

ISLAMABAD:

The new management of the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has transferred close to 450 officers in less than three months and a few who were sidelined over issues of integrity and weak professional credentials have been appointed at key posts.

The changes took place between November 17 and February 10 during which FBR authorities, on average, transferred five officers a day, according to details made available.

Top-level posting, transfers in Pakistan Army

Out of the total 447 officers ranked between grade 17 and 21 who were reshuffled, as many as 429 belonged to the Inland Revenue Service that deals with income tax and sales tax.

“However, the worrisome element was that some of those sidelined due to integrity issues and weak professional credentials have been given key posts,” said officials privy to the decisions.

On November 16, the federal government transferred the top brass of the FBR including the chairman. It then appointed Nisar Mohammad Khan as the new chairman who comes from the Customs service group. The team installed on November 17 could last only for a little over two months, as the FBR last week transferred its new Member Administration, Waqar Ahmed, bringing in Majid Qureshi as his replacement.

From mid-November to early February, the new management also appeared to be endorsing wrongdoings, as it showed leniency to about one-dozen officials who had been sanctioned. In addition to that, it imposed only minor penalties of withholding increments of about two and half dozen officials who were facing various kinds of inquiries on allegations of corruption.



The extent of reshuffling is evident from the fact that the FBR’s new management transferred six out of every 10 grade 21 officers of Inland Revenue. It also reshuffled 60% of grade 20 officers.

One-third of the grade-19 officers were also transferred in a span of less than three months. Four out of every 10 grade 17 and grade 18 officers were also transferred.

These changes have reversed some of the positive steps taken by the previous management, which the Tax Reforms Commission (TRC) also acknowledged in its report to the government.

“Over the past 18 odd months, the FBR Administrative Wings has made some efforts to place officers of known integrity at senior sensitive positions,” wrote the TRC. It said the TRC commended the bold initiative but recommends that this now needs to be moved to the next level.

The TRC also acknowledged that the FBR has also in the past 18 odd months taken very bold and much needed steps in enforcing disciplinary actions against officers breaching their duties. It observed that other initiatives had also been taken which were commendable and needed to be further consolidated and institutionalised.



However, instead of consolidating gains, the FBR has started reversing them. It has appointed a person as commissioner who had been charge-sheeted on allegations of corruption. Another officer with a tainted reputation has been made head of an important unit.

FBR’s point of view

Meanwhile, FBR Spokes­person Dr Mohammad Iqbal insists that changes were necessary and the tax machinery was cognisant of the fact that some positive changes had been made by the previous management during the past two years which should not be lost.

“We are not reversing the gains, rather we are in the process of consolidating them,” said Iqbal, who holds the post of Member Strategic Planning and Reforms and Member Information Technology.

He said changes were yielding positive results, which was evident from FBR’s second-quarter collection figure that surpassed the target.

To a question about showing leniency towards corrupt officials, the spokesman said that some were given harsher punishments in the past compared to their offence.  

Published in The Express Tribune, February 13^th,  2016.

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