PM Imran, FBR chairman discuss country’s economic situation

ISLAMABAD: Newly-appointed Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) Chairman Shabbar Zaidi called on Prime Minister Imran Khan to discuss country’s economic situation and several other affairs, ARY News reported on Thursday.

The meeting that took place at the Prime Minister’s House was also attended by Adviser to PM on Finance Dr Abdul Hafeez Sheikh.

Matters related to tax collection and recommendations for the betterment of the tax collection system were discussed in the meeting.

The prime minister apprised Zaidi of his vision pertaining to reforms in the country’s revenue authority.

Khan appointed Zaidi — a renowned chartered accountant and tax affairs expert — as the FBR chief earlier this week.

The decision was announced during an interaction with reporters and anchors in Islamabad. Syed Shabbar Zaidi is appointed head of the tax collection body days after the removal of Jahanzeb Khan from the post.

Zaidi is a chartered accountant and had served as caretaker provincial minister of Sindh in 2013. He is mainly known for his extensive contribution towards development of taxation and fiscal laws of the country. He is also a senior partner in A. F. Ferguson & Co., a member firm of PwC.

Among his non-profit work, Zaidi is a trustee of Sindh Institute of Urology & Transplantation (SIUT) and member of Boards of Governors of Liaquat National Hospital, Karachi.

He had also been the president of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Pakistan and Chairman of the South Asian Federation of Accountants (SAFA).