FBR Demotes Lahore Tax Officer for Deleting Theft Footage

The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has levied a substantial disciplinary penalty on Khalid Mahmood, an MIS officer (BS-16) posted at the Corporate Tax Office, Regional Tax Office (RTO) Lahore, for deliberately deleting CCTV footage pertinent to the theft of 20 cartons of cigarettes from the office premises.

The penalty follows formal disciplinary proceedings conducted under the Civil Servants (Efficiency and Discipline) Rules, 2020, on allegations of inefficiency, misconduct, and gross negligence. As the sole officer entrusted with access to and oversight of the CCTV system, Mahmood was found to have deleted the relevant recordings, thereby destroying material evidence of the theft.

The departmental inquiry established that Mahmood, in concert with two Sepoys, facilitated the removal of the contraband cigarettes from the premises. In his defence, the officer denied any involvement in or knowledge of the theft, asserting that he had been summoned to the office on a holiday for routine administrative duties, noticed two trucks on the premises, but maintained he bore no responsibility for either the missing items or the upkeep and security of the CCTV system.

The inquiry officer rejected these contentions, holding that Mahmood, by virtue of his MIS designation, was duty-bound to ensure the integrity and preservation of the surveillance system and its recordings. His failure to safeguard critical digital evidence was deemed gross negligence and a serious breach of official responsibility.

Although a district court had earlier acquitted Mahmood of related criminal charges, it expressly left the field open for departmental proceedings. Finding the minor penalty originally proposed by the Inquiry Officer inadequate given the gravity of the lapse, the FBR imposed a major penalty: demotion of the officer from his current post and pay scale (BS-16) to Data Entry Operator (BS-14) for a period of two years.