Customs officer was too junior to head FBR

ISLAMABAD: A principal reason, among others, to drop the previous choice of Customs officer Ahmed Mujtaba Memon as the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) chairman was that he was too junior for this slot.

An FIR registered against Memon was nullified after the allegations contained in it were not substantiated in relevant court of law long time ago. A knowledgeable official told The News that Memon’s selection was going to trigger uproar in the major tax collection agency for the mere fact that the Customs officer was very junior at a time when a massive revenue shortfall has already occurred. On the other hand, some sources said that Mr Memon was selected because of his competence and impeccable record. He said that after the announcement of Memon’s choice as the FBR chairman, authorities were briefed about something adverse relating to him. They were also told that a high-powered committee existed to take such decisions. Thereafter, the matter was referred to the forum comprising Advisers Dr Ishrat Hussain and Arbab Shahzad, Federal Minister Shafqat Mehmood and secretaries of establishment to follow the proper mechanism decided by the government. According to the official, Memon was very junior compared to several other officers in the FBR, who were much senior to him. Memon was recently promoted to Grade 21 and is even junior to many of his colleagues in this pay scale as well. Memon belongs to the 15th common of the Customs Group and has served the FBR in different positions, including Customs Collectorate of Adjudication-II and Collector Customs in Hyderabad.

At least, nine Grade 22 officers, including six of the Inland Revenue Service (IRS) would be ignored in case of Memon’s appointment as the FBR chief. IRS’ Mian Saeed Iqbal is the most senior official in the FBR.

The Customs Group has three officers in Grade 22, including Fazal Yazdani, Javed Ghani and Sarwat Tahira Habib. Two Grade 22 officers of Customs Group are currently serving as FBR members. Sarwat Tahira Habib is senior most among all these Customs Group officers and is working as the Secretary of Federal Tax Ombudsman (FTO).

The official said that once Ishaq Dar as the finance minister had also nominated a Grade 21 officer as the FBR chairman. However, before notifying this appointment, he had shifted a number of FBR officials senior to his preference, the source said adding that this had resulted in smooth working and averted heart-burning.

However, there is no bar in the rules hindering the prime minister to name even a relatively junior officer at a higher position, he said. “But the premier has to see that there is no unnecessary commotion in the bureaucracy due to some appointment.”

As the collector, adjudication, Memon had imposed fine in a case pertaining to US Army containers being empty instead of carrying the weapons, meant for Afghanistan, which used to be shipped from Karachi during war in the neighbouring country through Chamman and Torkham borders. The official said that the Customs intelligence had raided the containers and had found several of them empty, not laden with the supposed weapons. He said that the powerful mafia, which included several government officers of different departments, who were involved in the racket, had got the FIR registered against Memon. Subsequently, the officer had also got bail in this case.

The FIA Anti-corruption circle Karachi had lodged the FIR accusing Memon Collector MCC [Model Customs Collectorate], Hyderabad, of corruption and various other violations of rules and laws. It was alleged that he accumulated huge immovable and movable properties in his own name and in the name of dependent family members quite disproportionate to his known sources of income.

The FIR further claimed that Memon made huge transactions through bank accounts opened in his name as well as in the names of the members of his family and in-laws. He was also accused of maintaining foreign currency accounts and not declaring his assets in annual declaration of assets form.