ISLAMABAD: A two- member delegation of higher officials of the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) is representing Pakistan at a week- long seminar on Price Valuation and Assessment in South Korean capital Seoul.
Moreover, the source said that The World Bank, Korean Tax Administration, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD are organisers of the seminar which kicked off on Monday and would continue till Friday.
A well-placed source at FBR told this scribe here on the other day that both the members of the delegation were officers namely Chief Income Tax Policy Malik Amjad Zubari Tiwana and Commissioner Regional Tax Payers Peshawar Mir Badshah Khan, hailing from Grade-21.
The source said that selection of members of delegation from higher grade had earned staunch criticism from the lower grade offices on account that officers of higher grade didn’t have any direct connection with on ground operations, therefore, their participation in international seminar was nothing more than wastage of their time and national money.
The source said that international training workshops and seminars were more beneficial for lower grade officers who were supposed to implement learnt best international practices from such workshops in the country in future. The source said that participants of the seminar belonging to different countries from different continents of the would discuss issues pertaining to tax collection, income tax rates as well as related international practices. Similarly, the source said that they would also discus means and mechanism for uplifting and upgrading the existing tax systems in their respective countries after holding detailed discussions and deliberations.
“The FBR delegation will apprised other participants of the seminar about existing practices related to tax collection and tax system along with price valuation and assessment in Pakistan with special reference to rules and regulations associated with this system,” the source added.
“These officers of higher grade and having long service experience will try to learn international practices related to tax system and will try to experience them in the country to serve and uplift the internal taxing system,” the source added. However, when asked about the chances for implementation of international practices in the country by higher grade officers of FBR, the source ruled out any chance saying that such training workshops and seminars were not meant for officers of Grade-21, because officers of these grades had nothing to do with on ground operation. “Therefore, such training workshops and seminars can prove more helpful for the improvement of our tax system if the officers from lower grades which have direct links with on ground operation are selected to participate in such seminars,” the source added
Such international interactions can also be helpful for lower grade officers, as training and learning lower officers who have implement learned international at the operation.
