FBR Reluctant to Initiate Disciplinary Inquiries Against Senior Officers Placed on Admin Pool

The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has been reluctant to initiate disciplinary inquiries against those officers who were placed at the ‘admin pool’ in the last week of May and early July this year. According to the details, FBR had placed more than four dozen senior Inland Revenue Service and Customs officers in the ‘admin pool’ in April and July this year on the reports of intelligence agencies. Later on, the office-bearers of the Officers Association of Pakistan Customs Service and the Interim Committee of the Inland Revenue Service conveyed their concerns to the FBR about the placement of senior most officers of both services on the admin Pool which was rejected by the high-ups of tax authority. Apart from placing officers at the admin pool, FBR, based on pick and choose policy, also transferred dozens of IRS as well as Customs officials to other stations in the absence of any objective policy for such transfer and posting. On the Customs side, FBR placed those Customs officers at the admin pool who were waiting for postings for the last two to three years. Interestingly, FBR, on a pick and choose policy, transferred one senior officer of grade 20 of IRS from Islamabad to another station who won numerous cases for the department involving tax over Rs. 20 billion and whose one assessment order passed against a bank and a withholding tax audit strategy were also shared by FBR among all field formations for replication and guidance. Sources said that some officers, who were not involved in any sort of wrongdoing, decided to challenge admin pool placement in courts. Reportedly, the high-ups of FBR think that if the department takes any action against officers, then it can face revenue loss. Interestingly, these officials are regularly taking salaries but contributing nothing to the FBR. On the other hand, FBR has given charges to junior officials to replace the slots of these senior Admin Pool officials. Sources further revealed that the delay in action against these officials is only because the officials have not been confronted with any credible evidence of corruption for issuing charge sheets to them. As a result of the delay, the FBR has failed to get benefits from the experience of these tax officials, who were labeled as corrupt tax officials without providing them any opportunity to explain their position, sources added.