ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif Friday ordered for bringing the taxable non-filers into the tax net, revoking the discretionary powers of the customs appraisers, and sought an implementation report from the FBR chairman within 24 hours.
Chairing a meeting, called to review the FBR reforms process, he was informed that 4.5 million potential taxpayers had been identified. He termed digitalisation of taxation system government’s priority to prevent tax evasion worth billions of rupees, and directed the authorities concerned to immediately create a dashboard to monitor the ongoing digitalisation and implementation of reforms.
The PM was apprised that over 300,000 new taxpayers had submitted their returns in the last few weeks as a result of the government measures. Besides, the refunds of 4,000 companies had been stopped during last two weeks, following detection of under-invoicing and forged sales tax refunds, the meeting was told.
Shehbaz said the tax evaders, and the FBR officers and staffers facilitating them would be punished. He pledged not to spare those plundering the public kitty. Besides, the taxpayers fulfilling their responsibility timely would be acknowledged too, he promised. He advised the FBR chairman to implement the instructions and submit a compliance report in in 24 hours.
The PM asked for installation of modern scanners of international standards at the seaports, which would ensure transparency in the system and help eliminate corruption. He also sought a comprehensive report regarding estimation of tax evasion and measures to prevent it. He said officers and experts of excellent professional repute should be appointed for formulation of the tax policy.
Ministers and officials of ministries concerned attended the meeting.
Meanwhile, with continuous massive jolting of the tax machinery, the FBR has withdrawn powers from respective chief commissioners for issuing multibillion rupees refunds and appointed 25 commissioner refunds all over the country with the mandate to issue refunds. With the PM approval, based on intelligence agency reports, the FBR withdrew the powers of chief commissioners in all 25 offices including Large Taxpayer Units (LTUs) and Regional Taxpayers Offices (RTOs), and appointed the best available officers as commissioner refunds.
The issuance of refunds has been considered the most-shady source of wheeling-dealing in the FBR whereby the fake/flying invoices have caused over Rs3 trillion losses to the national exchequer annually.
In this massive reshuffle, there are some instances where some officers have tactfully managed field postings despite high-level interventions. However, the Inland Revenue Service (IRS) officers have been appointed largely on merit in this latest exercise.
The FBR issued a notification on Friday for transfers and postings of 101 officers of the Inland Revenue Service. The commissioner inland revenue (refunds) have been deputed at all Regional Tax Offices and Corporate Regional Tax Offices.
The FBR created new posts of ‘commissioner refund’ in the field formations for speedy processing of refund cases from July 1, 2024. Under the FBR Act, it is authorised to create new posts and with approval of the competent authority, the new post is created as commissioner refunds.
It is the third consecutive notification for reshuffling the FBR officers as the first one was done prior to the budget for FY2024-25. The second was done on Thursday where 27 officers belonging to the IRS and Customs were suspended, and 78 officers were reshuffled. On Friday, the FBR made transfer/ postings of 101 officers of the IRS.
The notification stated that Ms. Shazia Abid (IRS/BS-20) has been transferred from Commissioner (Zone-I) Regional Tax Office I, Karachi, to Commissioner Inland Revenue (Refunds) Regional Tax Office I, Karachi. The officer is also assigned the additional charge of the post of Commissioner-IR (Zone-I), Regional Tax Office I, Karachi, as per Rules.
Ms. Shazia Memon (Inland Revenue Service/BS-20) has been transferred from Commissioner Inland Revenue Benami Zone-III, Karachi, to Commissioner Inland Revenue, (Refunds) Corporate Tax Office, Karachi. The officer is also assigned the additional charge of the post of Commissioner-IR (Zone-I), Corporate Tax Office, Karachi, as per Rules.
Zafar Iqbal Khan (Inland Revenue Service/BS-20) transferred from Chief Commissioner, (OPS) Regional Tax Office, Peshawar to Director General (OPS), Directorate General of International Tax Operations, Federal Board of Revenue (Hq), Islamabad; Muhammad Ejaz Khan (Inland Revenue Service/BS-20) from Commissioner, (Zone-III) Medium Taxpayers office, Karachi to Director, Directorate of Internal Audit (Inland Revenue), Karachi; Aftab Alam (Inland Revenue Service/BS-20) from Commissioner Inland Revenue (Appeals-II), Lahore to Chief Commissioner Inland Revenue, (OPS) Regional Tax Office, Bahawalpur; Yasir Ali (Inland Revenue Service/BS-20) on return from NMC, transferred to Chief Commissioner Inland Revenue, (OPS) Regional Tax Office, Peshawar; Asim Ansar Siddiqui (Inland Revenue Service/BS-20) from Chief Commissioner, (OPS) Regional Tax Office, Bahawalpur to Director, Inland Revenue Service Academy (IRS Academy), Karachi.
Muhammad Farrukh Majid (Inland Revenue Service/BS-20) from Commissioner, (Zone-II) Regional Tax Office, Lahore to Director, Inland Revenue Service Academy (IRS Academy), Lahore; Hazoor Bux Laghari (Inland Revenue Service/BS-20) from Commissioner, (Zone-II) Medium Taxpayers office, Karachi to Commissioner Inland Revenue, (Zone-V) Medium Taxpayers office, Karachi; Aamer Amin Bhatti (Inland Revenue Service/BS-20) from Chief, (Provincial Taxes) Inland Revenue Policy Federal Board of Revenue (Hq), Islamabad to Chief (ST&FE Policy), IR-Policy Wing, Federal Board of Revenue (Hq), Islamabad.
Ms. Fiza Batool (Inland Revenue Service/BS-20) transferred from Commissioner, (Zone-I) Corporate Tax Office, Lahore to Commissioner Inland Revenue, (Zone-IV) Large Taxpayers Office, Lahore; Muhammad Abu Bakar Siddique (Inland Revenue Service/BS-20) from Commissioner, (Zone-IV) Corporate Tax Office, Islamabad to Commissioner Inland Revenue (Appeals), Sargodha; Muhammad Majid (Inland Revenue Service/BS-20) from Commissioner, (Zone-IV) Large Taxpayers Office, Lahore to Commissioner Inland Revenue, (Zone-II) Regional Tax Office, Gujranwala.
Faisal Rauf Memon (Inland Revenue Service/BS-20) transferred from Commissioner Inland Revenue (Appeals-III), Karachi to Commissioner Inland Revenue (Appeals), Sukkur; Ms. Nafeesa Satti (Inland Revenue Service/BS-20) from Commissioner, (WHT) Regional Tax Office, Rawalpindi to Commissioner Inland Revenue, (Refunds) Regional Tax Office, Rawalpindi. The officer is also assigned the additional charge of the post of Commissioner-IR (WHT), Regional Tax Office, Rawalpindi.
Khaliq Farooq Mian (Inland Revenue Service/BS-20) transferred from Commissioner, (Zone-II) Large Taxpayers Office, Multan 16. The officer is assigned the additional charge of the post of Commissioner-IR (Zone-IV), Large Taxpayers Office, Multan, as per Rules; Muhammad Asim Halim (Inland Revenue Service/BS-20 from Commissioner, (Zone-III) Corporate Tax Office, Lahore to Commissioner Inland Revenue (Appeals), Sahiwal.
Ms. Yasmeen Fatima (Inland Revenue Service/BS-20) transferred from Director, Directorate of Intelligence & Investigation (Inland Revenue), Faisalabad to Director, Directorate of Intelligence & Investigation (Inland Revenue), Lahore. The officer is also assigned the additional charge of the post of Director (Regulations), Directorate of DNFBPs, Lahore, as per Rules; Shakeel Ahmad Kasana (Inland Revenue Service/BS-20) from Commissioner Inland Revenue (Appeals-VI), Karachi to Commissioner Inland Revenue Benami Zone-III, Karachi; Muhammad Asghar Khan Niazi (Inland Revenue Service/BS-20) from Commissioner, (Zone-III) Corporate Tax Office, Islamabad to Commissioner Inland Revenue, (Rahim Yar Khan Zone) Regional Tax Office, Bahawalpur.
Dr. Muhammad Aslam Mari (Inland Revenue Service/BS-20) transferred from Director, Directorate of Intelligence & Investigation (Inland Revenue), Hyderabad to Commissioner Inland Revenue, (Zone-III) Medium taxpayers office, Karachi Director, Directorate of Intelligence & Investigation (Inland Revenue), Hyderabad; Zafar Rafiq Siddiqui (Inland Revenue Service/BS-20) transferred from Director, Directorate of Intelligence & Investigation (Inland Revenue), Karachi to Commissioner Inland Revenue, (Zone-IV) Medium Taxpayers office, Karachi; Masood Akhtar (Inland Revenue Service/BS-20) from Chief, (ITP) Inland Revenue Policy Wing Federal Board of Revenue (Hq), Islamabad to Chief (Clarification), IR-Policy Wing, Federal Board of Revenue (Hq), Islamabad. The officer is also assigned the additional charge of the post of Chief (Provincial Taxes), IR-Policy Wing, Federal Board of Revenue (Hq), Islamabad, as per Rules.
Muhammad Tariq Jamal Khattak (Inland Revenue Service/BS-20) transferred from Commissioner Inland Revenue (Appeals-II), Islamabad to Commissioner Inland Revenue (Appeals), Peshawar; Ms. Shabana Mumtaz (Inland Revenue Service/BS-20) from Commissioner, (Cantt Zone) Regional Tax Office, Rawalpindi to Commissioner Inland Revenue, (Refunds) Corporate Tax Office, Islamabad. The officer is also assigned the additional charge of the post of Commissioner-IR (Zone-I), Corporate Tax Office, Islamabad, as per Rules.
Adnan Ahmad Khan (Inland Revenue Service/BS-20) transferred from Commissioner, (Zone-IV) Regional Tax Office, Lahore to Commissioner Inland Revenue, (Zone-I) Corporate Tax Office, Lahore; Shabihul-Aijaz (Inland Revenue Service/BS-20) from Commissioner, (Zone-I) Large Taxpayers Office, Lahore to Commissioner Inland Revenue, (Refunds) Large Taxpayers Office, Lahore. The officer is also assigned the additional charge of the post of Commissioner-IR (Zone-I), Large Taxpayers Office, Lahore, as per Rules.
Zulfiqar Ali Syed (Inland Revenue Service/BS-20) transferred from Commissioner Inland Revenue (Appeals-II), Karachi to Commissioner Inland Revenue, (Zone-I) Medium Taxpayers office, Karachi; Rafique-ur-Rehman Memon (Inland Revenue Service/BS-20) from Commissioner, (Zone-II) Regional Tax Office I, Karachi to Commissioner Inland Revenue (Appeals-II), Multan; Ms. Ghazala Hameed Razi (Inland Revenue Service/BS-20) from Commissioner Inland Revenue (Appeals-IV), Lahore to Commissioner Inland Revenue (Appeals-III), Lahore. The officer is also assigned the additional charge of the post of Commissioner-IR (Appeals-IV), Lahore, as per Rules, and many others.