Following an incident of misbehavior by an officer of the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), reportedly involving an unregistered car with an FBR logo, the revenue watchdog has instructed field formations to comply with Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs). According to reports, these SOPs concern the use of the Honda City cars which the FBR has recently purchased.

Reports reveal that instructions were sent to a comprehensive list of officials, including Collectors of Customs, Chief Commissioners of Inland Revenue and Director Generals. The FBR was pushed to issue the instructions after traffic police stopped an unregistered car with no number plate in Karachi that bore the logo of the FBR on its body. 

As per reports, an Assistant Commissioner of the FBR was operating the car and began to misbehave with the police officers during the routine traffic stop. The FBR however, has condemned the act by issuing a letter that outlined that public officials are to conduct themselves with restraint, dignity and professionalism.

More importantly, the FBR has highlighted that violations of vehicle usage guidelines will not be tolerated regardless of the circumstances. As such, the board has called for all officers to follow all SOPs as non-compliance sheds negative light on the institution.

To prevent any such instances from occurring in the future, an internal meeting concluded that the new, unregistered, cars can only operate after receiving formal approval. Officials present at the meeting also prohibited the unnecessary use of FBR’s cars.
 
According to reports, any officers found to be involved in the misuse of operational vehicles will face severe disciplinary action. It merits a mention the FBR made special mention of the misuse of cars bearing an FBR logo and that the use of such cars will bring forth consequences.

The FBR has also warned against the installation of certain modifications on its cars. As per the details, the board has mandated that its vehicles must not have tinted windows. 

Reports reveal that the FBR has made the effort to instruct heads of field formations to review all relevant SOPs with their teams. This could allow for officers to learn how to conduct themselves with professionalism, especially in public settings.

The Honda City cars in question here are part of the FBR’s latest acquisition of motor vehicles. Earlier this year, the FBR placed an order of 1,010 Honda city cars worth approximately Rs6 billion.