ISLAMABAD: The federal government has assured the International Monetary Fund (IMF) that it will operationalise and strengthen the Integrity Management Cell (IMC) within the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) to address corruption and improve internal accountability.
Under the commitment, the FBR will issue a formal notification revising the IMC’s Terms of Reference and activate the previously dormant body as part of programme obligations. The IMC will report directly to the FBR chairman, while a Performance and Integrity Management Committee will oversee its functioning.
As part of the reform plan, the FBR will publish anonymised data on the number and status of complaints received and processed to reduce reputational risks and protect complainants.
The published data will include complaints received, rejected after evaluation, formally investigated and categorised by outcome, without disclosing complaint contents by June 2027.
The FBR will also digitise its Complaint Management Cell through a dedicated online platform to log, scrutinise and investigate corruption-related complaints in a standardised and traceable manner. The IMC webpage on the FBR website will be upgraded.
An Internal Affairs Unit will be established within the FBR, reporting directly to the chairman, with a mandate to enforce integrity and anti-corruption policies, investigate misconduct at all staff levels and coordinate with relevant enforcement agencies.
Inquiry recommendations of the IMC will be enforced under the Efficiency and Discipline Rules, with penalties imposed in proven cases. Where criminal wrongdoing is identified, matters will be referred to relevant authorities, including the police, the Federal Investigation Agency, the Establishment Division and the National Accountability Bureau.
The FBR will also publish information on disciplinary penalties on its website.
