ISLAMABAD: Federal Tax Ombudsman (FTO) Dr. Asif Jah has referred a matter involving senior officials of the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) to Chairman Rashid Langrial, calling for appropriate action and preventive measures to avoid future oversights.
The case, stemming from a public interest complaint titled “Waheed Shahzad Butt vs Chairman FBR and others,” highlighted concerns over a column titled “estimated current market value” that was introduced into the wealth statement section of the tax return for Tax Year 2025. According to the FTO’s findings, this addition was made without following due process and led to difficulties for taxpayers.
Dr. Jah noted that despite formal notices, the concerned senior FBR officials Member-IR (Operations), Member-IR (Policy), and DG (IT & DT) did not submit their responses or attend the scheduled hearing. This, the FTO stated, reflected a lack of attentiveness in handling an important issue and was inconsistent with expected standards of public service.
The FTO acknowledged that the Prime Minister had taken note of the matter, resulting in the formation of a committee which ultimately recommended the removal of the column. Following the PM’s approval, the FBR revised the tax return form on its IRIS system accordingly.
In his directive, Dr. Asif Jah emphasized the importance of institutional accountability and urged the FBR Chairman to ensure that such procedural lapses are addressed and prevented moving forward.
