ISLAMABAD: In an attempt to quash speculations, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif appointed Rashid Mahmood Langrial, a BS-21 officer of the Pakistan Administrative Services, as the new chairman of the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) on Wednesday. He faces the daunting task of carrying out end-to-end digitisation of the tax process.

The coveted office of FBR chief fell vacant last month after Zubair Tiwana requested early retirement. Mr Rashid served as federal secretary of the power division before he was appointed head of the FBR.

Rashid Mahmood, who holds a master’s degree in international development from Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government, has worked for the federal and provincial governments in various capacities, including chief secretary of Gilgit-Baltistan, additional secretary at the industries and production division, additional secretary at the ministry of food security and secretary of the KP tourism department.

Mr Rashid would be the first PAS officer to lead the FBR since Muhammad Jehanzeb Khan’s appointment in 2018. Shabbar Zaidi, a chartered accountant, served as the organisation’s chief for six months when the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf was in power.

Since January 1 2020, the government has been choosing officers from either the Inland Revenue Service or the Customs Group to head the FBR.

Since taking oath as prime minister in March, Shehbaz Sharif has expressed dissatisfaction with top FBR officials for lack of progress on his initiatives to widen the tax base and ensure end-to-end digitisation, even though the government has hired the services of international firms after taking grants from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

Last week, the prime minister formed a task force, chaired by State Minister for Finance and Revenue Ali Pervez Malik, to produce a report on the digitization process. The trace and track system failed to expose corruption and to seal loopholes to halt tax leakages.

According to sources, the government considered the names of top tax officers for the position, but the prime minister preferred someone who he thought could efficiently implement the reforms.

Promotion of tourism

The prime minister intended to appoint a bureaucrat with international experience and administrative skills to implement the reform measures, the sources said.

Rashid Mahmood worked in the KP tourism department in 2019 and 2020, where he drafted the first-ever KP Tourism Act.

The act included a new organisational structure for promoting tourism. He is also the architect of the province’s new tourism concept, Integrated Tourism Zones.

Mr Rashid had also served in Punjab since joining the civil service in 1995. He held many positions in the provincial government, including the commissioner of Lahore division, secretary of the agriculture department, and chairperson of the Lahore Ring Road Authority.

Published in Dawn, August 8th, 2024