Will Zubair Tiwana be the new FBR chairman?
Business
Previous head Asim Ahmad left the office after his retirement on July 30
ISLAMABAD (Web Desk) – Malik Amjad Zubair Tiwana is reportedly the frontrunner in the race to fill the vacant slot of the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) chairman after the retirement of Asim Ahmad on July 30 who was appointed by the PML-N government in April last year.
An officer of the Inland Revenue Service (IRS), Tiwana is currently serving as the IRS Member Operation of IRS. Some reports suggest, although could not be verified so far, the federal cabinet has already approved his appointment through a circulation summary and a formal notification will be issued later in the day.
It is claimed that Finance Minister Ishaq was favouring Tiwana from a long list of aspirants from the IRS, Customs and Pakistan Administration Services.
Whether it is Tiwana or some other person, the challenge remains the same as the FBR is responsible for meeting the Rs9.415 trillion revenue collection target in 2023-24 which is a huge jump from the last fiscal year’s figures of Rs7.2tr.
Meanwhile, the FBR is working hard to improve its working as suggested by the launching of IRIS 2.0 – an upgraded version of the tax filing system developed by the Pakistan Revenue Automation Limited (PRAL) – last week.
The move comes as the government is working on enhancing tax collection albeit missing the urgent requirement of expanding the tax base amid a disappointing tax-to-GDP ratio. Moreover, the record-high interest rates and inflation are discouraging business activities with an obvious negative impacts on the collection of direct tax.
