Thousands of FBR officials transferred in historic reshuffle

--‘FBR wants its employees who have been working in certain offices for a considerable period to gain experience at other locations’

The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has witnessed the biggest reshuffle in its history, as thousands of employees of BPS-9 to BPS-16 across the country have been transferred to various departments, it emerged on Saturday.

According to the office orders issued by the

FBR on Friday, as many as 2,154 of BPS-9 to BPS-16 have been shuffled in
different cities, as the board aims to meet its revenue targets for the new
fiscal year (FY20).

In Karachi, 726 officials of grades 9-14,

working in the Inland Revenue Department, have been transferred. In Lahore, 565
employees of grades 9-15 have been relocated, while in the twin cities of
Islamabad and Rawalpindi, 357 officials of grades 9-15 have been shuffled.

Moreover, more than 500 officers and officials

working in grades 9-16 in regional tax offices of Abbottabad, Faisalabad,
Gujranwala, Hyderabad, Sialkot, Sargodha, Sukkur, Peshawar, Sahiwal, Multan and
Quetta have also been transferred.

Talking to a private media house, FBR Member Inland Revenue (IR) Policy Dr Hamid Ateeq Sarwar pointed out two major reasons behind the mass transfers and postings.

He said the FBR wanted its employees who have

been working in certain offices for a considerable period to gain the
experience of working at other locations and in other jobs.

Secondly, he said, the move is aimed at "breaking

the connivance" between lower-level staff members and taxpayers in the
areas where they are stationed.

The reshuffle comes as the government has set

an ambitious revenue collection target of Rs5.5 trillion for the fiscal year
that began on July 1.

Prime Minister Imran Khan has repeatedly

criticised FBR's performance since assuming office in August last year, saying
without reforms in the board, the government will not be able to efficiently
collect taxes. On one occasion, he even threatened to "create a new
FBR" if the existing revenue collection body could not be reformed.

According to sources, the FBR chairman is planning

to break the nexus of corrupt FBR officials with the business community.

Those people who have recently been posted

would not be touched, except where there are complaints against them, they
said, adding that despite repeated but half-hearted attempts, the FBR has not
been able to prosecute nearly 200 allegedly corrupt officers who are facing
inquiries since 2015.

Few months ago, a summary was moved by the FBR

to the Establishment Division for seeking PM’s approval to remove grade-20 and
-21 officers. But the Establishment Division returned the file on the grounds
that there was a need to conduct fresh inquiries against them.

Shabbar Zaidi has already placed a bar on the

FBR officials to provide private consultancy.