The outgoing government has posted Amjad Zubair Tiwana, a BS-21 officer of the Inland Revenue Service (IRS), as the new chairman of the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR)
According to the local daily newspaper sources, the Finance Ministry has approved the appointment of Malik Amjad Zubair Tiwana as the head of the Premier Tax office of Pakistan, as per the circulated summary. The ministry has also recommended Member admin FBR Nadeem Rizvi and Secretary Power Arshad Mahmood Langrial names as potential candidates for the chairman of FBR position.
It was also reported by the newspaper that Finance Minister Ishaq Dar maintained the tradition of appointing loyal officers, and this time, he has chosen Malik Amjad Zubair Tiwana for the head of FBR. It also quoted that approximately 25 IRS officers are senior than Tiwana, might choose to work in other departments due to this decision.
It is worth mentioning here that previously, Tiwana served as a staff officer to Tariq Pasha, a close aide of the finance minister, when Pasha was the chairman of FBR. Last year in August, the outgoing government appointed Tiwana as Member IR Operations in the FBR.
“There have been concerns about Tiwana’s ability to handle daily file disposals as the Member Operations, and he also put the Point of Sale prize scheme on hold, the sources mentioned.
Earlier, many other names including Rashid Mahmood Langrial, Syed Nadeem Rizvi, and Faiz Chadhar were considered for the role but officials picked Tiwana for the role. Former chairman, Asim Ahmad, was also appointed by the coalition government last year in April and he is now stepping down from the role following his retirement.
Tiwana is likely to have a rough patch as the government projected a revenue collection target of over Rs9 trillion for the current FY. The increase in the target will bring more pressure on the new Chairman.
The government however expressed satisfaction as the new Chairman of the Federal Board of Revenue has an extensive background in revenue operations, as he worked as a staff officer to former finance minister.
