SOHAIL SARFRAZ

ISLAMABAD: Chairman Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) Shabbar Zaidi has said that Prime Minister Imran Khan will formally announce the concessions given to traders and he will also participate in the PM’s interaction with traders on January 20. The FBR on Saturday clarified that the reports about purported differences between chairman FBR and the Prime Minister or the government’s economic team are baseless. Likewise, Chairman FBR Shabbar Zaidi has no differences on any policy issue with Advisor to the PM on Finance Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh.

According to a tweet of Shabbar Zaidi here on Saturday, “The PM will formally announce the concessions given to traders’ community and will seek assistance of trade bodies in complete documentation and tax contribution by trading sector. The Prime Minister has very graciously consented to preside over a meeting with all Pakistan traders on 20th of January. The meeting will be held in the PM House.”

A statement of the FBR issued here on Saturday said that Shabbar Zaidi is on a two-week leave from 06-01-2020 to 19-01-2020 which is going to end this Friday. He is likely to resume office on Monday (January 20) and his first day business will include Prime Minister’s interaction with All Pakistan Traders Association.

The leave of chairman was necessitated by his annual medical check up in Karachi and some family commitments. The FBR chairman as a part of economic team of the PM enjoys full confidence of the Prime Minister and his Advisor on Finance. Any rumor about any sort of rifts in the economic team is utterly incorrect, the FBR added.