IR & Pak Customs: FBR establishes Strategic Tariff, Revenue Analysis Wings

ISLAMABAD: The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has established the Strategic Tariff and Revenue Analysis Wings for Inland Revenue and Pakistan Customs to provide in-depth assessment of revenue trends, organizational structures and industry-specific taxation matters. In this regard, the FBR has issued a notification on Tuesday.

Some of the senior officials of Admin Pool have been given potions of Director Generals at the Strategic Tariff and Revenue Analysis Wing. The Strategic Tariff and Revenue Analysis Wings have been established in the presence of National Tariff Commission (NTC) and after transfer of tax policy from the FBR to the Ministry of Finance.

According to the FBR’s notification, FBR’s new Wings will function as support and analysis units for Inland Revenue and Pakistan Customs, working directly under the supervision of respective Member-Policy (Inland Revenue/Customs).

The FBR has also issued a separate notification to transfer 11 Members (Grade-21 officials of IR) as Director Generals including Director Generals, Strategic Tariff and Revenue Analysis Wing.

Meanwhile, the FBR has transferred and posted seven senior officials (BS-21) of Inland Revenue Group to Strategic Tariff and Revenue Analysis Wing. FBR members including Dr Lubna Ayub (Inland Revenue Service/BS-21), Asim Majid Khan (Inland Revenue Service/BS-21), Shaban Bhatti (Inland Revenue Service/BS-21), Tariq Mustafa Khan (Inland Revenue Service/BS-21), Hyder Ali Dharejo (Inland Revenue Service/BS-21), Muhammad Azam Sheikh (Inland Revenue Service/BS-21) and Nasir Khan (Inland Revenue Service/BS-21) were transferred as Director Generals, Strategic Tariff and Revenue Analysis Wing.

In pursuance of powers conferred under Sections 4 and 5 of the FBR Act, 2007 read with the FBR Rules, 2007, the Board is pleased to establish the Strategic Tariff and Revenue Analysis Wings for Inland Revenue and Pakistan Customs, respectively, in its meeting held on March 7, 2025. The Wings shall provide in-depth assessment of revenue trends, organizational structures, jurisdictional performance, and industry-specific taxation matters. The Wings will function as support and analysis units for Inland Revenue and Pakistan Customs, working directly under the supervision of respective Member-Policy (Inland Revenue/Customs).

The main features of the Strategic Tariff and Revenue Analysis Wings shall be as under:

i) There shall be separate Strategic Tariff and Revenue Analysis Wing for Inland Revenue and Pakistan Customs reporting directly to the Member-Policy (Inland Revenue/ Customs).

ii) The concerned Member-Policy (Inland Revenue/Customs) shall oversee the work of officers posted in the respective Wing and determine their assignments.

iii) The officers posted in the Wings shall conduct structured analysis assigned by the concerned Member-Policy (Inland Revenue/Customs), including the review of budget suggestions, operational efficiencies, organizational structures, sectoral studies, compliance trends among various categories of taxpayers and identifying the risk areas ensuring that FBR remains adaptable to evolving economic challenges. The reports, analysis and recommendations shall be aimed at providing fact-based inputs for targeted interventions and enhancing operational capacity of FBR.

iv) The assigned tasks will be time bound as determined by the concerned Member-Policy (Inland Revenue/Customs).

v) Other Members of the Board may also consult the Strategic Tariff and Revenue Analysis Wings for seeking input on any issues through the concerned Member-Policy (Inland Revenue/Customs).

vi) The evaluation reports submitted by officers shall be examined by Member-Policy (Inland Revenue/Customs) himself or through a Committee constituted in the respective Policy Wing.

vii) The concerned Member-Policy (Inland Revenue/Customs) shall consider any appropriate recommendations coming from such analysis reports for the purposes of legislative changes or any policy interventions.

viii) The officers may also make presentations to the Board or any concerned Member, on the assigned topics, as and when necessary.

ix) Any report or analysis, if so warranted, shall be published with the approval of the Board.

x) The Policy Wings shall maintain complete log of the deliverables, including duration, quality and delays if any.

xi) The reporting mechanism of the officers posted in the Strategic Tariff and Revenue Analysis Wings for the purpose of PERs shall be as under:

The Secretary (Policy), of BS-17 & BS-18, as designated by the concerned Member-Policy (Inland Revenue/Customs) shall serve as the Reporting Officer and Chief (Policy) as the Countersigning Officer.

Chief (Policy) - BS-19 as designated by Member-Policy (Inland Revenue/Customs), shall be Reporting Officer and Member (Policy) as the Countersigning Officer.

Member-Policy- BS-20 & above (Inland Revenue/Customs) shall be the Reporting Officer and Chairman, FBR the Countersigning Officer.

The officers posted in the Strategic Tariff and Revenue Analysis Wings shall keep all the data and information confidential.

The Admin/HR Wing may transfer as many BS-17 to BS-21 posts to the Wings from time to time for both IRS and PCS as may be necessary, or the officer may draw his/her salary from the office as determined by the Admin/HR Wing.

The concerned Member-Policy (Inland Revenue/Customs) shall determine whether officers will work virtually or stationed at specific office, based on the operational needs.

The DG (IT&DT) shall provide necessary technical support for virtual work setups, if so required.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2025