Karachi, February 25, 2025 – The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has taken disciplinary action against a senior Inland Revenue Service (IRS) officer, imposing a penalty and halting his promotion for two years due to charges of misconduct and inefficiency. According to an official statement from the FBR, a de-novo inquiry was conducted against IRS officer Abdul Hameed Anjum Arayn (BS-20), in line with the Supreme Court of Pakistan’s directives issued on January 29, 2020. The inquiry focused on allegations of inefficiency, misconduct, and corruption, particularly concerning sales tax refund approvals during his tenure as Deputy Commissioner Inland Revenue at Regional Tax Office-II, Karachi, in 2012. The case revolved around the alleged improper sanctioning of sales tax refunds totaling Rs. 87 million. The Prime Minister, in his capacity as the Authority, appointed Afzal Latif (PAS/BS-22), the then Secretary, Ministry of Industries and Production, as the Authorized Officer to oversee the inquiry. The investigation process saw multiple officers involved, including retired IRS officers Khawaja Adnan Zahir (BS-22) and Nadir Mumtaz Warraich (BS-22), who conducted separate inquiries at different stages. The IRS officer was initially served a charge sheet and statement of allegations on April 7, 2020. The inquiry findings, submitted on August 13, 2021, concluded that the charges of inefficiency and misconduct were substantiated. However, while there was circumstantial evidence for misconduct, FBR officials noted that there was insufficient evidence to prove corruption…