Inland Revenue Audit Officers Association (IRAOs) has requested new Chairman FBR Nisar Muhammad Khan to provide equal opportunity to all IRAOs to play their vital role in achieving the budgetary targets set by the FBR.
In a communication to the FBR Chairman, IAROs have warmly welcomed new FBR team headed by Chairman FBR Nisar Muhammad Khan. The association hoped that FBR will definitely achieve its budgetary targets under the newly multi dynamic leadership.
The association has requested the tax authorities for carrying out their functions in line with the decisions of the Board-in-Council of the FBR.
It is also learned that all Audit Officers showed marvellous performance by doing all core functions ie Audit, Enforcement etc since 2010. The association also highlighted that major reason of current shortfall in revenue is due to not utilising the skill of Audit Officers by keeping them post less.
Secretary Information IRAO Association informed the tax authorities that the audit officers having Professional Education ie M.Com, MBA, A C.M.A, M.P.A M.A Economics etc and enriched experience(almost two decades) are still ready to play an important role in the field of audit, enforcement and recovery of Sales Tax, Federal Excise as well as Income Tax to meet the ambitious revenue collection target for 2015-16. Audit officers are the backbone of the FBR and they should be made part of the FBR team for generating revenue and bringing potential persons into the tax net. The Association submits presentation before the Secretary Revenue Division/Chairman, FBR, Islamabad regarding FBR's notification no.2467-ir-i/2015 dated 28th October, 2015 against the discrimination attitude by the previous Board Management.
Brief facts are that the nomenclature under S.R.O.1126(1)-2010, dated 27.11.2010 has been changed and re-designated as under through Board's Notification issued vide No 2467/-IR-I/2015 dated 28.10.2015 in follow up of the decision taken by FBR's Board-in-Council in its meeting held on 11.09.2015.
According to FBR's Board-in-Council, the proposed re-designations of the posts were Assistant Director/Deputy Director/Additional Director & Director (Sales Tax Audit). However, the Board-in-Council while deciding upon the proposed agenda after detailed deliberation unanimously agreed upon the above said re-designations with the following remarks: "The restriction of Sales Tax in the designations may be removed in order to enable such officers to perform functions of Income Tax and Federal Excise as well.
Whereas, while notifying the aforementioned decision of FBR's Board-in-Council, the Secretary (Mgt-IR-I) FBR, Islamabad inserted title to the Notification as "Nomenclature of Small Cadre" and incorporated a clarification by restricting the field formations from assigning the officers of Small Cadre any assessment/audit related duties and functions.
It has further been clarified that the officers of this cadre shall not be posted as Unit Incharge in the field formations i,e they shall not be assigned assessment related duties and functions."
In this way the clarification given at para-3 of the notification is not only altogether in negation of the decision of the FBR's Board-in-Council. But is also in annulment of the statutory powers and functions entrusted upon the IRAOs under section 30 of Sales Tax Act, 1990, section 207/210 of Income Tax Ordinance, 2001 and section 29 of Federal Excise Act, 2005. It is also worth mentioning that any such restriction is not even provided under SRO. 1126(I)/2010 dated 27.11.2010.
It is not out of context to mention here that the FBR's Board-in-Council in its aforementioned meeting also decided with respect to Small Cadre:
"The officers of Small Cadre shall not be given any statutory powers and functions under the Sales Tax Act, 1990 and the officers of Small Cadre shall be given only support functions in order to assist the Chief Commissioners and Commissioners of Inland Revenue in discharge of their functions related to Sales Tax;", as per decision.
It is also worth mentioning that Small Cadre was created upon the sanction of posts by the President through up-gradation/ addition/ deletion/ transfer of the existing posts and creation of new posts, for 27 officers only as Small Cadre of Inland Revenue (Sales Tax) reserved for the incumbents currently holding the positions of Chief or Equivalent (BS-20), Cost Accountant (Sales Tax BS-19), Cost Accountant (Sales Tax BS-18), Assistant Collector (Sales Tax), Law Officer (Sales Tax), Statistical/ Research Officer, Statistical Investigator (BS-17) issued vide Notification No:0874-IR-III/2014, Islamabad, the 08.05.2014.
The IRAOs upgraded and re-designated as Assistant Manager (Audit) are now as Assistant Director (Audit), belong to a large cadre of Inland Revenue comprising of more than 330 officers having qualification of MBA, M.Com, ICMA, ACCA, LLB and Master degrees, are not part of the Small Cadre. The IRAOs (now Assistant Directors) are performing core functions of audit, assessment and enforcement in the different field formations of FBR since their appointment in 1996 to 2001 through FPSC till issuance of the impugned notification. The cadre of IRAOs are being deprived of their basic authorities under the garb of up-gradation and they are being prevented from doing all what they are bestowed by law to do ie assessment and audit related function for which they were recruited, trained, skilled and posted in various field formations of the FBR. The imposition of such illogical conditions by the Secretary (Mgt-IR-I) FBR without any lawful ground and authority amounts to detrimental to the good order as it is required to be while exercising the power and authorities on behalf of the Federal Government. Moreover, this act is an express violation of provisions of Article 4 read with Article 3, 10-A, 18 & 25 of the Constitution.
In view of the foregoing facts and circumstances, Chairman FBR is requested to intervene in the matter and issue appropriate orders to the concerned quarter to amend the Notification No 2467-IR-I/2015 dated 28/10/2015 by removing the title of the Notification "Nomenclature of Small Cadre" and by deleting the Para 3 of the impugned Notification in the light of the decision of the FBR's Board-in-Council by keeping in view the provisions section 30 of Sales Tax Act, 1990, section 207/210 of Income Tax Ordinance, 2001 and section 29 of Federal Excise Act, 2005.
Comments
Comments are closed.