The government on Saturday assigned Muhammad Javed Ghani the additional charge of the chairperson of the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), the fourth appointment made to the position since the ruling PTI took office.
He replaces Nausheen Amjad, who was appointed to head the revenue authority in April.
“The federal government has been pleased to assign additional charge of the post of chairman, Federal Board of Revenue, to Mr. Muhammad Javed Ghani … for a period of three months or till the posting/appointment of a regular incumbent; whichever is earlier,” a notification issued by the Establishment Division said.
A second notification issued by the Establishment Division said Amjad, a BS-22 officer of the Inland Revenue Service who was serving as the FBR chairperson, has been transferred and posted as the secretary of the National Heritage and Culture Division. The reason(s) for her transfer was not immediately clear.
Ghani is a BS-22 officer of the Pakistan Customs Service who is currently posted as a member of the FBR.
According to his Twitter profile, Ghani holds an LLM (Master of Laws) degree in international economic law from Warwick University.
The summary to give additional charge of the post of FBR chief to Ghani was approved by the federal cabinet through circulation.
Ghani is the fourth person to have been given the task of leading the FBR.
On April 6, the government had named Amjad as the chief of the FBR amid massive tax revenue shortfalls during the first nine months of the 2019-20 fiscal year.
With Amjad’s appointment, the cabinet had terminated Shabbar Zaidi’s honorary/pro-bono appointment, which was meant to last two years, as FBR chairman.
The post had fallen vacant in February when Zaidi went on an indefinite medical leave only days after resuming office on January 21. In his absence, Amjad, who was posted as an FBR administration member, had been looking after the office of the chairperson as well.
Prime Minister Imran had appointed Zaidi as FBR chairman in May 2019 with a vision that he would bring about desired reforms and work towards achieving the revenue collection target of Rs5.5 trillion then projected for the last fiscal year. He had taken over from Mohammad Jehanzeb Khan, who was given the charge of the FBR chief in August 2018.
