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