The composite audit exercise of the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) under Tax Administration Reform Programme (Tarp) may face a serious setback due to strike call by around 900 auditors of the sales tax across the country. According to an announcement of the Association of Auditors and Senior Auditors of Sales Tax on Wednesday, the senior auditors of the sales tax have not been promoted for the last 14 years.
On the other hand, income tax inspectors were repeatedly promoted to the senior position. The issue has been raised at the highest level of the FBR. However, if the FBR does not consider auditor''s genuine demands, the sales tax auditors including senior auditors would be forced to go on complete strike in all cities of the country. This would directly hurt the ongoing audit exercise of the FBR under reform agenda. The threat of the strike has come at a time when the FBR has started countrywide audit exercise, auditors added.
A representation of the association to the FBR Chairman said that since the date of appointment of senior auditors, no promotion path has been defined by the Board. Since 1996, the FBR always promoted the Superintendents/Principal Appraisers (BS-16) of the Customs as Assistant Collector (BS-17) without considering the Senior Auditors. Further, since the appointment of Senior Auditors, the posts of Assistant Collector (BS-17) against the quota in Sales Tax Department are being filled by promoting the officers (BS-16) of the Customs Department.
Presently, there are about 350 senior auditors followed by more than 550 auditors working in the Sales Tax Wing of the FBR. All the senior auditors/auditors possess the postgraduate degrees in commerce, business administration, statistics, economics and cost & management accountants and they are computer literate but unfortunately, they have been serving this department without having any departmental promotion.
After lapse of almost 14 years of the appointment of first batch of Senior Auditors in the Sales Tax Department the Board has sought approval from the Finance Division, Government of Pakistan for creation of 28 posts BPS-17, 14 posts BPS-18, 7 posts BPS-19 and 1 post BPS-20 for promotion of senior Auditors in the Audit Wing in the Sales Tax Department. The approval is being sought from the Establishment Division, in this regard. In this way the disparity and discrimination would be prolonged rather than eradication.
The creation of new hierarchy for auditors/senior auditors only in the Audit Wing, Sales Tax Department, if implemented, would be discriminatory and inequitable and will result in disparity and unfairness. Further, it will also create unrest and disorder among the auditors/senior auditors who have been working in almost all the field formations of the Board. It is, therefore, requested that this new scheme for promotion may kindly be discarded and the departmental quota against the post of Assistant Collector (BS-17) may kindly be allocated which ought to have been reserved for the promotion of senior auditors, the presentation added.
The new setup of Inland Revenue/Pakistan Revenue Service (ie merger of Income Tax, Sales Tax and Federal Excise) may kindly be finalised only after promoting the senior auditors as assistant collector in the Sales Tax group. If the FBR has not promoted the senior auditors as assistant collector immediately then auditors would reserve the right to protest for the achievement of fundamental right of promotion, it added.
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