ISLAMABAD: The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has initiated a special audit into cash rewards worth Rs484.44 million (Rs48.4 crore) distributed to officials and informers between July 2021 and December 2025, following serious objections raised by the Auditor General of Pakistan.
According to audit findings, the rewards were allegedly disbursed in violation of established rules and without proper merit-based evaluation.
Audit findings raise concerns
The AGP report highlighted that reward payments in cases involving tax evasion and confiscation of goods should only be approved after the actual recovery of duties and taxes. It also emphasized that such incentives must strictly be granted for “meritorious or extraordinary services” as defined under official reward rules.
However, auditors found irregularities in how these criteria were applied, prompting directives for stricter enforcement and accountability.
FBR’s response & justification
In response, the FBR maintained that the rewards were granted based on exceptional performance by officers, including exceeding revenue targets, recovering arrears, expanding the tax base, and successfully defending cases before appellate forums.
Despite this, the AGP has ordered recovery of funds from at least 40 tax officials who allegedly received payments in violation of the rules over the past two fiscal years.
Special audit underway
The FBR has now assigned its Chief (Legal) to supervise a detailed audit of all reward-related cases. The review will cover Customs Enforcement offices in Lahore, Multan, and Quetta.
The audit will examine:
Fully and partially disbursed rewards
Pending and unpaid reward cases
Distribution shares among informers and officials
Allocations under the Customs Performance Fund (CPF)
Processing of both matured and non-matured rewards
Officials have been directed to complete the audit within three weeks and submit a comprehensive report to the Board.
The development comes amid growing scrutiny of financial transparency and accountability within government institutions.
