New IAIO committee to oversee corruption risks, complaints and disciplinary referrals across tax and customs operations
The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has constituted the Internal Affairs & Integrity Oversight (IAIO) Committee and established a public complaint portal with immediate effect to strengthen integrity oversight and provide a digital channel for complaints against FBR officials.
The IAIO Committee will be chaired by Member (Admin/HR), with Member (IR-Operations) and Member (Operations), Customs, serving as members. The Director General, Intelligence & Investigation (Inland Revenue), and Director General, Intelligence & Investigation (Customs) will serve as co-opted members.
The Chief (Integrity Management Cell) will act as the committee’s secretariat. Chief (Management/HR-IR), Chief (Management/HR-Customs) and Chief (Legal-HR) will assist the committee when required.
IAIO committee to oversee integrity risks
According to the FBR, the committee will provide headquarters-level oversight of the board’s integrity framework and directly implement GCD Recommendations 5, 6 and 7.
One of its key responsibilities will be to establish a centralised complaints register containing complaints received through the Integrity Management Cell, Regional Integrity Committees, Intelligence & Investigation units, Federal Tax Ombudsman, FIA, NAB and the Citizens Portal.
The committee will periodically report complaint volumes, dispositions and outstanding cases to the chairman.
It will also maintain an integrity risk register identifying corruption vulnerabilities in high-risk areas, including customs clearance, GST refund processing, audit case selection and procurement.
The committee will review FTO compliance rates, contested orders and appellate reversals to identify systemic procedural failures and integrity concerns at the formation level.
It will also recommend changes to the code of conduct, integrity training programmes and rotation policies, while coordinating with FIA and NAB on criminal referrals.
Public complaint portal established
FBR will establish a public complaint portal on the IRS website, allowing taxpayers, businesses and members of the public to lodge complaints against FBR officials.
Complainants will register on the portal and undergo basic identity verification aimed at preventing frivolous mass filings while protecting their identity from the official against whom the complaint is made.
Each complaint will receive a unique, anonymised reference number for future correspondence. The complainant’s identity will not be disclosed to the subject of the complaint.
The structured complaint form will capture details including the nature of the complaint, the official involved, the relevant formation and supporting evidence.
Complaints will then be routed directly into the IAIO centralised register.
The IAIO Secretariat will classify complaints as frivolous or lacking sufficient basis, requiring further investigation, or warranting direct disciplinary action.
The portal will also publish aggregate complaint data, including volumes, stages and outcomes, while complainants will receive automated email updates until the final status is reached.
Quarterly reports to strengthen accountability
The IAIO Committee will conduct quarterly reviews and submit formal Quarterly Reports to the Board-in-Council, with the chair presenting the findings in person.
The reports will include consolidated complaint data, disciplinary outcomes, criminal prosecution referrals, FTO compliance status, contested orders, appellate reversal analysis and updates to the integrity risk register.
FBR will share summaries of the IAIO quarterly reports with the Ministry of Finance as part of its regular governance reporting.
The board said publication of complaint and disciplinary data, where required under GCD Recommendation 6, will be coordinated through the IAIO Secretariat.
The notification was issued with the approval of the Competent Authority.