Uncertainty Persists Over Future of FBR Chairman

There is uncertainty at the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) as rumors continue to persist that FBR Chairman Dr Muhammad Ashfaq Ahmed will be replaced. A senior official was of the view that the government will immediately change the Chairman after the return of Finance Minister Miftah Ismail from the US. “He is the official who in 2012 went against the then FBR Chairman Ali Arshad Hakim, appointed by the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP). Both the PPP and Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PMLN) are not happy with the existing Chairman”, another official said. Presently, the FBR Chairman is actively engaged in budget preparation meetings and presentations for Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. Last Saturday, he chaired a meeting to finalize the new Inland Revenue Code for the next budget 2022-23. As the budget exercise has stared at the Board, most of the senior officials opined that the FBR Chairman will likely continue till the presentation of the budget in June. “If FBR Chairman is going to be changed, why he participated in the recent meetings with the IMF and why he had frequent interactions with the new finance minister in the US?”, an official questioned. A customs official told ProPakistani that he had a detailed budget meeting on the tariff changes and import duties on the auto sector at the FBR House. The meeting was attended by the senior FBR officials and the existing Chairman is very much engaged in the budget preparation meetings at the FBR. The names circulating for the new Chairman include FBR Member Customs Operations Syed Muhammad Tariq Huda and Inland Revenue Service (IRS) officials Nadeem Rizvi and Asim Ahmed. The government may also bring a senior official of the Pakistan Administrative Services.