Sindh High Court Stops FBR From Transferring Senior Officers to Admin Pool

Sindh High Court (SHC) has suspended notification of the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) to transfer senior tax officials to the “Admin Pool”. According to an order of the SHC, “issue notice to the defendants as well as DAG for August 8, 2024. In the interim operation of the impugned notice is suspended with the clarification that officers are permitted to continue in the offices where they were last posted”. In this regard, a bench of the High Court of  Sindh on Monday suspended the operation of a notification dated 03.07.2024 transferring 12 officers to the Admin Pool of FBR at Islamabad. Khalid Javed Khan Advocate appeared for the Plaintiffs and argued that the impugned notification is without jurisdiction and thus assailable directly on account of the decision reported as Arif Majeed v/s Karachi Grammer School 2004, SBLR. Sindh 333. He argued that the notification implies that the Plaintiff has been considered as an Officer on Special Duty (OSD). He further clarified that, in numerous judgments by the SHC, it has been established that such a designation is neither a transfer nor a posting, and is considered an act beyond jurisdiction. After hearing the Plaintiff’s counsel in detail, the bench suspended the notification and directed the Plaintiff to continue in their current position. The court ordered the issuance of notices to the Defendants for August 08, 2024.