ISLAMABAD: The 13-party coalition government on Wednesday appointed a senior officer of the Inland Revenue Service (IRS) Asim Ahmed as the chairman of the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) in the wake of a change in the federal government.

Mr Asim replaced the incumbent chairman Ashfaq Ahmed who was appointed on Aug 24, 2021. Mr Ashfaq is the second top bureaucrat after Azam Khan, the personal secretary to former Prime Minister Imran Khan, who was removed from his position.

Earlier, the PTI government appointed Asim Ahmed as chairman of FBR on April 4, 2021. He served nearly four months in the position before he was replaced on August 24, 2021, after a cyberattack on taxpayers’ data, which apparently was an excuse to replace him.

Ashfaq Ahmed was very closely connected with the Prime Minister’s Secretariat and enjoyed the support of the key cabinet ministers of the PTI-led coalition government.

He was first appointed as a member of Operations IRS, a critical position in the FBR, before being relieved of the coveted position of FBR chairman, while senior officers from the same group were ignored.

An official announcement from the FBR said Mr Asim, a BS-21 officer of the IRS, has assumed the charge of the post of chairman. He brings with him a diverse experience in holding key positions, including Chairman FBR, Member-IT, DG (I&I)-IR, and Chief Commissioner-IR.

Former finance minister Shaukat Tarin backed Mr Ashfaq and chastised the PDM government for replacing a competent FBR chairman, who he claims will deliver a 30 per cent increase in revenue this year.

“If we add the waived petroleum diesel sales tax, the collection goes up to Rs6.4 trillion, or 36pc, the highest in history,” the ex-minister remarked.

“What message are we sending that merit doesn’t count?” the ex-minister asked the sitting government.

Soon after taking the oath earlier this month, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif held a one-on-one meeting with Mr Ashfaq. However, no official word is available about the meeting. It was very clear that Mr Sharif would replace him because of their close working relationship with the previous government.

Over the past decade, the slot of chairman has become a more political post because of the nature of the slot.

Soon after assuming the job, Asim Ahmad told Dawn that he would continue working to improve tax collection. He stated that he would carry out the reform agenda in order to make it easier for taxpayers and to plug revenue leakages.

It will be clear after Eid whether Mr Asim will replace the existing team or maintain them until the upcoming budget in June.

The new chairman will be tasked with the implementation of several tough measures in the upcoming budget as part of conditions with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to resume the loan programme. These conditions include revenue measures, especially a revision in personal income tax rates and the withdrawal of tax exemptions in the next budget.

The FBR has already imposed over Rs 350 billion in taxes as part of the IMF programme in January of this year.

The FBR collected Rs4.382 trillion in the first nine months (July to March) of the current fiscal year, which is Rs248bn higher than the target and growing at around 30pc year-on-year.

This growth was achieved even though sales tax on all petroleum products has been reduced to zero for the first time in the country’s history, costing the tax body Rs45bn in March alone.

Published in Dawn, April 28th, 2022