The Peshawar High Court (PHC) has ordered the suspension of Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) Chairman Malik Amjed Zubair Tiwana’s salary due to his failure to respond to repeated reminders in an ongoing tax case.
The additional registrar of the PHC instructed the accountant general of Pakistan to enforce the court’s decision, resulting in Tiwana’s salary being halted.
FBR officials have confirmed the suspension of Tiwana’s salary. However, attempts to contact Special Assistant Director to the FBR chairman, Naveed, and Legal Member Asim Majeed for their stance were unsuccessful as they could not be reached.
According to documents obtained by Express, the PHC Mingora Bench, Swat, issued an order on February 14, 2024, freezing the FBR chairman’s salary for failing to respond to repeated reminders in the pending tax case.
The order specifies that Tiwana’s salary will remain suspended until he submits detailed comments and replies.
The PHC’s judgment was sent to relevant departments by the additional registrar upon issuance.
Sources indicate that the concerned departments informed the PHC after implementing its order.
Tax lawyer Waheed Shahzad Butt informed Express that the FBR’s response and comments in the case of Muzaffar Khan vs Government of Pakistan, etc., filed in writ petition number 1318-M of 2023, had been pending. Tiwana was also a party in the case.
A letter was sent to the FBR on November 15, 2023, requesting detailed comments in the case. Despite reminders on December 26, 2023, January 16, 2024, and February 14, the FBR had not submitted detailed comments, leading to the PHC’s decision to freeze Tiwana’s salary.
Following the court order, the accountant general of Pakistan suspended the FBR chairman’s salary for the month of February.
