The federal government on Wednesday named Inland Revenue Service (IRS) officer Asim Ahmad as the new chairman of the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), replacing former chief Ashfaq Ahmed.

"With the approval of the federal government, Mr Asim Ahmad, a BS-21 officer of Inland Revenue Service, is appointed as the Chairman Federal Board of Revenue under Section 10 of the Civil Servants Act, 1973, with immediate effect and until further orders," a notification issued by the Establishment Division, available with Dawn.com, stated.

Asim Ahmad previously held the charge of FBR chief from April to August, 2021, when he was replaced by the then Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf government after a cyberattack on taxpayers’ data.

Subsequently, Ashfaq Ahmed was elevated to the top slot. Soon after taking oath, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had held a one-on-one meeting with him.

According to a Dawn report, after the new government came to power, senior officers from the tax groups were in the run for FBR chief.

The government was initially considering names of three IRS officers — Asim Ahmad, Nadeem Rizvi and Tariq Pasha — and one from Customs, Tariq Huda, for the FBR’s top slot.

However, the final decision was taken after Finance Minister Miftah Ismail discussed measures with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to resume the loan programme. These measures, a source said, included revenue measures, especially a revision in personal income tax rates and withdrawal of tax exemptions in the next budget.

As part of the IMF programme, the FBR already imposed over Rs350 billion in taxes in January this year.

Revenue collection

The FBR collected Rs4.382 trillion in the first nine months (July to March) of the current fiscal year, Rs248bn higher than the target and growing around 30pc year-on-year.

This growth was achieved even though sales tax on all petroleum products has been reduced to zero for the first time in the country’s history, costing the tax body Rs45bn in March alone.

Former prime minister Imran Khan announced a cut in petrol and electricity prices despite a steep rise in the global oil market, pledging to freeze the new rates until the next budget in June. He said FBR’s revenue collection was exceeding the targets. In public rallies, he has repeatedly talked about the FBR’s performance.

Likewise, the revenue impact of sales tax exemptions provided to fertilisers, pesticides, tractors, vehicles, and oil and ghee have come in at Rs18bn per month.

The growth in revenue will provide a cushion to the incumbent government for subsidising petroleum prices, reducing electricity rates and incentivising the IT sector and industries.

However, the IMF is asking Pakistan to end subsidies on petroleum products in order to resume the loan programme.