FBR Officials Face Probe After Maladministration Case Referred by FTO

The Federal Board of Revenue is facing an internal probe after the Federal Tax Ombudsman (FTO) referred a maladministration case involving senior tax officials to FBR Chairman Rashid Langrial. The referral follows a public complaint about the addition of a controversial “estimated current market value” column in the 2025 wealth statement form, which was later withdrawn after intervention from Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.

According to the FTO’s directive, Dr. Asif Jah instructed the FBR chairman to investigate the conduct of Members Inland Revenue (Operations and Policy) and the Director General (IT & DT) and take appropriate action against those responsible. The chairman was also told to ensure such lapses are not repeated in the future.

The maladministration case stemmed from the FTO’s finding that senior FBR officials ignored statutory notices and skipped hearings related to the complaint filed by tax lawyer Waheed Shahzad Butt. The ombudsman described their behavior as “unreasonable,” adding that it reflected neglect, inattention, and inefficiency, which legally qualify as maladministration.

Butt criticized the FBR leadership for failing to uphold transparency and fairness, claiming that the department’s top officials appear indifferent to taxpayers’ rights. He urged Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to take disciplinary action against those undermining the integrity of the tax system.

The FTO order further stated that the disputed column was added to the wealth statement format on September 23, 2025, without proper procedure, creating unnecessary difficulties for taxpayers. After the prime minister took notice, a committee was formed to review the issue and later recommended removing the column. Acting on the prime minister’s approval, the FBR deleted the column from the tax return form on its Iris portal.