Pakistan introduces mandatory asset disclosures for grade-17 and above public officials

Pakistan has introduced new rules that mandate public officials from grade 17 and above disclose their assets, the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) shared in a notification.

The tax authority said it has amended the rules under the Income Tax Ordinance, 2001, replacing the term civil servant with public servant and adding a new definition that broadens the category of officials required to file asset declarations.

Under the revised rules, federal, provincial and autonomous-body officers, as well as officers of state-owned companies of grade 17 and above, will be required to declare their assets. However, individuals exempted under the National Accountability Ordinance will not be included.

“The aim of the new rules is to make the asset-sharing system more transparent,” the FBR said, adding that amendments were introduced “to make the rules comprehensive and harmonized”.

The government’s move aligns with commitments made to the International Monetary Fund, which has called Pakistan’s anti-corruption framework weak and described the National Accountability Bureau as a “political compromise” in its Governance and Corruption Diagnostic Assessment, issued as part of the country’s ongoing $7 billion loan program.

According to the GCDA, both sides agreed to publish the asset declarations of high-level public officials starting in 2026, along with introducing risk-based verification of those declarations.

In the longer term, the IMF and the government discussed creating a centralized authority to collect, digitize and publish the asset data, though such reforms risk stalling once the loan program ends.

The IMF also urged Pakistan to bolster the National Accountability Bureau’s independence by strengthening the appointment process of its chairman, expanding investigative capacity and improving internal accountability structures.

The assessment expressed concern that disciplinary action against corruption within government departments, particularly among senior revenue officials, remains weak. Their investigative authority is often limited to reviewing documents and checking asset declarations, the report said.