Irshad appointed FBR chairman

ISLAMABAD: The government on Tuesday appointed Dr Irshad Ahmad as secretary of the Revenue Division and chairman of the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR).

The decision was taken after the three-day pen-down strike observed by the association of FBR’s Inland Revenue officers. The officers objected to Finance Division Secretary Tariq Bajwa assuming the additional charge of Revenue Division secretary.

To bring an end to the controversy, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar withdrew his earlier decision and appointed Dr Ahmad on a permanent basis.

The FBR witnessed a revenue shortfall of over Rs127 billion in the first half of the current fiscal year.

The new management led by Dr Ahmad has been tasked to bridge the shortfall and achieve the original revenue target of Rs3,621 bn for the current fiscal year.

The post of FBR chairman fell vacant following the retirement of Nisar Ahmad in January. The new chairman was earlier posted as member of the Inland Revenue and looked after the charge of FBR chairman on a provisional basis.

Published in Dawn, February 15th, 2017