Shabbar being replaced by Memon?

The name of Ahmed Mujtaba Memon, a man who reportedly has the confidence of Adviser to the Prime Minister on Finance Hafeez Sheikh, is making the rounds at the Finance Ministry and the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) for the slot of chairman FBR after Shabbar Zaidi went on medical leave for the second time this month. Zaidi was on leave from January 6 to January 19, 2020 and is on medical leave from Monday (February 3).

Sources close to chairman FBR confirmed to Business Recorder that Zaidi is facing serious health issues but also acknowledged that the rift between the Adviser and the Chairman has deepened. The federal capital, however, is rife with rumours that Zaidi's departure on medical leave is due to serious cracks having developed between Shabbar Zaidi and Dr Hafeez Sheikh.

As the International Monetary Fund (IMF) begins its second mandatory review mission from today (Monday) on the ongoing Extended Fund Facility (EFF) programme the absence of Chairman FBR, expected to be a key player in the review due to the Board's inability to meet the unrealistic downward revised target of Rs 5.23 trillion, would be keenly felt from Pakistan's perspective. However, no official was ready to comment on Zaidi's absence.

Sources revealed to Business Recorder that while Prime Minister Imran Khan initially stated that Shabbar Zaidi is his strength, yet in recent weeks he queried different quarters about Zaidi's performance, which was conveyed to Zaidi that may have led him to conclude that he no longer enjoys the Prime Minister's trust. Hafeez Shaikh during his last visit to FBR expressed extreme displeasure at the FBR's failure to meet the unrealistic targets, an attack that Zaidi took personally.

According to a notification issued by the FBR, "Nausheen Javaid Amjad, BS-22 officer of Inland Revenue Service presently posted as Member (Admin), FBR is assigned the look after charge of the post of Chairman, FBR w.e.f January 31, 2020, during the leave period of Shabbar Zaidi."

The notification does not mention the period of Chairman Zaidi's leave prompting sources to state that in case of a prolonged absence the government is likely to appoint his replacement. Mujtaba Memon is a Grade 21 officer of Customs Group and currently posted as Additional Secretary in the Ministry of Finance and belongs to the 15th common of the Customs Group.

Memon has served in the FBR in different positions including Customs Collectorate of Adjudication-II. He also served as Collector Customs at Hyderabad.

The Inland Revenue Service (IRS) has six officers in Grade 22. With the appointment of Memon as the FBR chief, nine grade 22 officers would stand ignored. Mian Saeed Iqbal Khan of IRS is the senior most official in the FBR. The Customs Group has three officers in Grade 22 - Fazal Yazdani, Javed Ghani and Sarwat Tahira Habib.

Two grade 22 officers of customs group are serving as members in the FBR however Sarwat Tahira Habib is senior most among all those serving in the customs group and is currently serving as Secretary Federal Tax Ombudsman (FTO). Some officers in grade 21 are also senior to Ahmed Mujtaba Memon.