ISLAMABAD: The Federal Tax Ombudsman (FTO) has directed the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) to conduct a formal fact-finding inquiry against a sitting senior IRS/BS-21 Member of the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), earlier served as Accountant Member at the Appellate Tribunal Inland Revenue (ATIR).
In this regard, the FTO has issued landmark recommendations against the said official. The FTO takes a serious view of his repeated failure to respond to the FTO’s notices and orders that willful defiance of notices is an independent infraction warranting separate legal proceedings.
The order was issued in a complaint filed by a company through its CFO, AzharShafiqManj. The company was represented by Advocate WaheedShahzad Butt. It was filed against Member ATIR/FBR.
The complainant’s appeal had been heard by ATIR on 9 August 2024. The bench included FBR Member, then serving as Accountant Member. According to the complaint, no order was served on the taxpayer in over two years, despite written reminders for re-fixation. When the company checked the ATIR online portal, it showed the case as “Heard” with a “Date of Order” of 12 September 2025.
The complainant argued that this raised a stark alternative, either an order was passed and unlawfully withheld from service, jeopardizing the taxpayer’s right of appeal, or no order was passed and the portal entry is false. Representations to the ATIR Registrar and the FBR Chairman reportedly drew no response.
The FTO observed that, prima facie, the respondent “either has no defence” or is deliberately failing to comply. FTO held that the fate of the appeal needs to be ascertained. The complainant’s charges against him “thus far remain unrebutted”.The FTO considered it appropriate for the competent authority to conduct a formal fact-finding inquiry before proceeding further. FTO recommended that the Chairman, FBR, ensure that a self-contained statement from FBR Member is obtained and shared with the FTO.
Waheed Butt welcomed the order as a step toward real justice for aggrieved taxpayers. He said it shows that no officer, however senior, is above accountability when taxpayers’ statutory rights are at stake.
He added that a taxpayer cannot be left for years without knowing the outcome of an appeal. Order sends a clear message, ignoring the FTO’s notices carries consequences, and the FBR is expected to ensure its officers cooperate with the Ombudsman’s office.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2026