Move to turn FBR into PRA: IRS officers express Reservations

Inland Revenue Service Officers Association (IRSOA) Sindh chapter Thursday expressed reservations over the reforms process that will be turning Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) into Pakistan Revenue Authority (PRA).

The reservation was expressed at a meeting of the IRS officers held on Thursday in Karachi. Over 120 officers from all cadres of the IRS attended the meeting, which was called for to discuss the situation arising from the controversial and ill-conceived reforms plan of the FBR that would be turning it into PRA. Senior vice president IRSOA Karachi and other IRS officers spoke on the occasion.

During meeting, it was made unanimously clear that the IRS is in support of a meaningful and transparent reforms aimed at creating a viable automated and effective revenue organization.

The officers showed their concerns to the discreetly and secretly approved haphazard reform plans which has apparently been prepared by non-service elements it is neither any detailed layout/plan nor it is legal in the strict sense of the constitutional and statutory impediments in the federal setup of the country. The concerns however were raised regarding various aspects of the said reforms.

The IRS is the largest service rank and is equipped with on-job trainings with necessary professional skills for effective tax collection given the country's socio-economic ground realities.

The reforms in revenue or in any state body, if experimented without involving the stake holders as well as being oblivious of the ground realities, are bound to fail. In this backdrop the concerns were raised that the under discussion reforms cannot be perceived to bring any betterment rather are to end up in creating confusions and uncertainty.

It would frustrate the pace of tax collection which is much needed for defence and development of the country. It would also frustrate the documentation and revenue drive in place by IRS against the Benami transactions/properties, to tax assets held abroad and to weaken the case of Pakistan in the FATF proceedings.

It was voiced that the reforms are aimed more at creating a controversial authority wherein non civil servants could be hired representing business communities and professional organizations which might encourage tax avoidance and evasion instead of revenue collection. The reforms were perceived as a kind of coup against the willing, professional, sound and hands on experienced professionals of IRS who, despite business friendly tax policies, have raised tax revenues to five times in last ten years and that too with limited/meager resources, with no financial autonomy, as well as in the face of challenging and declined economic growth. The ill-conceived reforms agenda is bound to be detrimental to the revenue collection efforts and thus affecting overall conditions of the national economy

The participants were found of the view that the reforms under discussions conveyed the impression of some conspiracy hatched by non-professionals in a conniving and shabby manner which would lead to further deformation and deterioration of the service as well as the national economy.

The participants showed unflinching support and solidarity with the Chief Commissioners for conveying the IRS community's concerns to the Chairman FBR during the Chief Commissioners Conference held recently in Islamabad. Simultaneously, the house also expressed solidarity and support to the lower pay scale employees of IRS and assured them that their concerns with regard to service conditions in the proposed reforms program would be conveyed to the higher ups with the suggestion that representatives of these employees should be also made a part of the consultative/inclusive process. The meeting ended with the resolution reiterating that the IRS Officers and employees are not against the reforms but the process should be inclusive giving due weightage to the concerns of all the stakeholders.