The government has taken a significant step toward greater transparency by fulfilling another key condition set by the International Monetary Fund (IMF): it has made it mandatory for officers of Grade-17 and above to declare their assets. Under the new rules, these officials are required to provide comprehensive details of all their holdings, including houses, bungalows, vehicles, other properties, and cash.
Using powers granted under Section 237(1) of the Income Tax Ordinance 2001, the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has introduced important amendments to the Sharing of Declaration of Assets of Civil Servants Rules 2023.
These amendments were first published on October 7, 2025, through Notification 1912(I)/2025 and have now been finalized after incorporating public feedback, as required by law.
The most notable change in the updated rules is the replacement of the term “civil” with “public” wherever it appears. Rule 1(1) has also been amended accordingly.
Additionally, a new clause (ii-a) has been inserted in Rule 2, defining a “public servant” as any officer of Grade-17 or above serving under federal or provincial governments, autonomous bodies, state-owned corporations, or government-owned companies.
The definition also covers employees governed by the Civil Servants Act 1973, except those specifically exempted under Section 5(n)(iv) of the National Accountability Ordinance 1999.
According to the FBR, these amendments aim to make the asset declaration system more transparent, effective, and comprehensive, enabling better information exchange regarding the assets of government and semi-government officials.
The IMF, under its loan program, has released the Governance and Corruption Diagnostic Assessment Report for Pakistan, which highlights that corruption remains a serious challenge, undermining economic activity and institutional performance.
With this measure, asset disclosure is no longer limited to civil servants alone—all public servants are now required to declare their assets, reinforcing transparency and accountability across the public sector.
