The Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB) is grappling with a deep financial crisis after the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) withdrew a total of Rs2.307 billion from its bank accounts in recent weeks under the head of income tax. The deductions have stalled ongoing development projects and disrupted salary payments for staff across the country.
According to media reports, ETPB’s Chief Controller Accounts, Adeel Ahmad said that the FBR initially issued a tax claim of Rs1.215 billion, and later directly debited Rs1.118 billion from multiple board accounts. Prior to this, deductions of Rs942 million and Rs235 million had also been made, pushing the total burden into several billions.
Adeel Ahmad said the board has challenged the FBR’s move before the Appellate Tribunal Inland Revenue (ATIR), which has granted a stay order. He argued that ETPB is a federal, trustee-level institution legally exempt from income tax, and noted that the FBR itself issued tax exemption certificates for the board from 2012 to 2022. The sudden withdrawal of this exemption in 2023 triggered the present dispute.
Board officials maintain that treating a statutory trust body as a commercial company is both inappropriate and contrary to its legal status.
Meanwhile, the situation has severely affected staff and operations. According to Mudassir Zaidi, General Secretary of the ETPB Employees’ National Union, nearly 1,500 employees have not received their salaries, while pensions for retired staff have also been halted.
Zaidi added that restoration and renovation projects at gurdwaras and temples across Pakistan launched on the directives of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz—have come to a standstill. Payments for electricity, gas and other utilities have also been suspended due to the cash crunch.
The union warns that the financial crisis is now beginning to affect institutions under the board’s management, including schools, hospitals and welfare facilities that serve Sikh and Hindu communities.
