FBR ramps up internal accountability, places nearly 40% of officers on performance watch list

Nearly 40% of Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) officers considered for promotion in 2025 were also placed under a performance watch list, up sharply from just 2% in 2023, as the tax authority ramps up internal accountability to make financial integrity central to career advancement, The News reported. 

The move follows concerns raised in the IMF's Corruption and Diagnostic Assessment Report and underscores the growing role of financial integrity in promotion decisions within the country's tax administration.

The sharpest increase was recorded in promotions from BS-17 to BS-18 and BS-18 to BS-19, while scrutiny also expanded for officers in higher grades. 

Officials said that nearly two out of every five officers considered for promotion in 2025 were placed under review, compared with about one in 50 officers two years earlier.

The FBR said its Rating and Reward System (RRS) serves as an internal performance management and multi-rater feedback mechanism for officers in BS-17 and above. The system is used to assess professional competence and integrity and to guide decisions on postings, promotions and financial rewards.

According to the tax authority, peer review completion reached 97.4%, 99.5% and 100% in the last three evaluation cycles, marking the first implementation of a structured performance management framework.

The FBR also reported significant changes in the placement of officers in sensitive positions. The share of officers with low integrity ratings (grades C, D or E) in critical Inland Revenue posts declined from 74% in July 2023 to 11% by June 2026, with 89% of those positions now held by officers rated A or B.

Similarly, in Customs, the proportion of low-rated officers serving in critical posts fell from 71% in January 2023 to 9% by June 2026.

Under the RRS, the top 20% of officers receive a performance reward equal to four basic salaries, the next 20% receive three basic salaries, while the bottom 20% receive no financial reward.

The FBR said its internal accountability drive has also intensified. Major disciplinary penalties increased from 38 cases in FY2023-24 to 49 cases in FY2024-25 and 75 cases in FY2025-26.

Suspensions of Inland Revenue Service (IRS) and Customs officers in BS-16 to BS-21 rose from 33 in FY2023-24 to 106 in FY2024-25 before easing slightly to 105 in FY2025-26.

As of April 2026, the FBR said 32 officers with questionable reputations—14 from the Inland Revenue Service and 18 from Customs—had been removed from active postings, with most of them belonging to BS-20 and above.

Officials added that the accountability campaign also resulted in criminal cases registered by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) against two officials. Two Preventive Officers were also named in investigations, while an Additional Collector of Customs was arrested on alleged corruption charges.