ISLAMABAD: Shabbar Zaidi lands in hot waters even before taking charge asnew Chairman FBR as the FBR officials have decided to challenge hisnomination in the Court.
The appointment of “a tax expert” as the new chairman of Federal Board ofRevenue (FBR) has irked the tax officials, who have reportedly decided tochallenge the appointment in a court of law.
According to sources, the appointment of “someone belonging to the privatesector as FBR chairman was more surprising for the officials than theappointment of Ahmed Mujtaba Memon, a BS-21 officer”.
The appointment of Shabbar Zaidi, a prominent chartered accountant andformer caretaker minister for Sindh, came at a time when FBR officials wereunhappy over the reported appointment of Mujtaba Memon as the board’schairman. The appointment of Memon was being opposed by senior officials ofFBR, particularly the BS-22 officers.
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On Monday, a placement committee comprising Adviser to Prime Minister onEstablishment Shehzad Arbab, Adviser to PM on Institutional Reforms DrIshrat Husain, Minister Education Shafqat Mehmood and Adviser to PM onFinance Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh was scheduled to meet to decide about thenew FBR chairman. It is not clear whether the prime minister proposedZaidi’s name for FBR’s top slot in consultation with the said committee ornot.
“Although there has been an FBR chairman from the private sector in thepast, the appointment of Zaidi is not being welcomed by the FBR officials,”sources claimed, adding that some of the officials have decided tochallenge the appointment, for which they may refer to a similar case ofIslamabad High Court (IHC) in 2013.
