ISLAMABAD: Facing lack of human resource, Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) needs to focus on the fresh recruitment to make up the shortage of staff in all the cadres; lower to higher level because all the wings and departments are trying to perform duties with least possible availability of human resource.
Moreover, entire staff from peon to officers level requires training on regular basis around-the-year to have updated techniques and technologies along with the best international practices
A source at FBR told Customs Today on Monday that FBR missed the revenue collection target only because of the fact that it faced the worst shortage of staff in almost every department and wing. The situation is so alarming that in some offices one assistant is coordinating with three officers at the same time.
The source said that FBR had recruited some 500 Inland Revenue Inspectors through Federal Public Service Commission (FPSC) who have joined last month; after completion of their training they will be in a position to serve the nation.
“But the issue is that FBR’s Inland Revenue training academies, based in Lahore, Karachi and Islamabad, have also not capacity to train all five hundred inspectors in one time; therefore; they are being provided with basic training of their professional job nature in different batches,” the source said, adding that therefore, they would be able to complete their training in a tenure expanding from six to nine months.
As per best international practices, the source said that training and refresher courses for the staff and officers of the leading international tax authorities were salient features of their job because through these courses their become familiar with the changing and new trends of money laundering, tax evasion, corporate mergers, acquisitions and other related issues.
To a question, whether the international monetary institutions did not press FBR to include training of staff in their service performance, the source said that almost all the international financial organizations press and offer both short term and long term training courses for FBR officials but major issue was the flawed the selection mechanism of pertinent officers.
“Most often an officer of higher grade is sent for training prescribed for officer of lower grade and lower grade officers remain completely unaware about the issue just because of the fact that Chief International carries out the entire selection in a discreet manner,” the source added.
