The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has chalked out a new policy for the transfers and postings of tax officials (Grade-17 and above) belonging to Inland Revenue Services (IRS) and Pakistan Customs Services (PCS) under which input of FBR line members would be given preference during reshuffling of senior tax officials on sensitive positions.
Sources told Business Recorder here on Saturday that FBR Board-in-Council has approved new policy to give priority to tax officials, who would be picked by line members for transfers and postings. The new policy would streamline procedure for transfers and postings of tax officials. Board-in-Council has appreciated the new policy for reshuffling of tax officials, which was acceptable by top FBR management. The FBR will also give award and bonus to officers showing compliance to posting/transfer decisions and meeting assigned revenue targets.
According to the salient features of the new policy, the input of Line Members in all postings/transfers of their respective officers should be given preference subject to approval of Secretary, Revenue Division/Chairman FBR. Similarly input of support FBR Members may be given due weightage where transfer of officers pertaining to their wings are considered.
Sources said that the FBR Member (Admn) apprised the Board on the proposed policy for the mobility of FBR's officers on the basis of an across the board criteria. The policy was discussed in detail and it was approved with some changes by the Board-in-Council.
Under the guiding principles to chalk-out annual posting/transfer plan, sources said that after the completion of CTP and STP, an officer shall be posted for the next five years on the field assignments followed by a five years rotated postings in FBR (HQ), training institutions and other support functions. However, keeping in view the public interest, these postings in FBR (HQ), training institutions and other support functions will be flexible and not in a fixed sequence.
The eligibility criteria for promotion of officers have already been prescribed in the Civil Servants Act and the Civil Servants Seniority and Promotion Rules. The same have to be followed for all the officers of IRS, PCS and FBR (HQ). The distinguished performers may be compensated with other permissible rewards.
As per FBR standard rules for posting/transfer, sources said that there should be no segregation of posts except that minimum stay of an officer on a post may be prescribed as two years. The posting preference of top-3 probationers upon completion of their STP may be limited only to the choice station subject to the availability of posts on that station. The DTL needs to be utilised in the public interest, however, in order to groom the officers of IRS and PCS, Director General DG Human Resource Management (HRM) should frame a strategy whereby these officers could be circulated in other organisations for broader experience.
According to the detailed mechanism and criteria for posting/transfer of tax officers, the complete mechanism was approved subject to the condition that the entire annual posting plan was to be routed through the respective Line Members along with input from the concerned officials of the HRM.
Sources said that the mobility policy for officers of FBR was based on a set of guiding principles, based on a rationale. An officer is supposed to have basic knowledge and competence to perform in diversified work environment. The deficiency, if any, may be addressed by providing an opportunity of diversified postings to the officer, especially in their early phase of professional career.
The proposed mobility and transfer/posting policy is based on a set of principles. The initial recruitment of candidates having relevant professional background/education will be made through Federal Public Service Commission (FPSC). The two tier road-map of posting plan of the officers included the rotation plan for first 12 years of service (in BS-17 and BS-18) and specialisation plan for mid-career and senior level positions (in BS-19 and above). Sources said that the new policy offer flexibility to consider 'Special cases' for deferrals. The officers are to be rotated in all functional domains, while posted in field offices.
Rotation Plan/Cycle for first 12 years of service: Newly hired officers are to be rotated in various positions, in a pre-defined cycle, during first twelve years of service, before being trained in a specialised area of interest, policy said. Specialisation Plan for Mid-Career and Senior Positions: After having gained diverse experience of working in all basic domains, officers need to be specialised in a specific area of interest, relevant to their technical know-how, organisational needs and professional interest, for which new steps are proposed. It included identification of best-eligible candidates for promotion, training /grooming of officers in specialised domains, based on departmental needs and specialised training for identified officers.
Sources said that the FBR has also drafted the standard rules for posting/transfer of officers, in a given year. About the segregation of posts, sources said that the posts need to be segregated, based on nature of post and continuity requirement for an office holder, ie short-term posts, of maximum of 2-year of stay: (categorised as routine nature assignments) and long-term posts of maximum of 5 years of stay (specialised assignments, requiring ownership and continuity of policies).
The FBR policy of transfers/postings further revealed that the personal preference, for choice of station, should be sought from the officers, one year, prior to their superannuation (to allow for post-retirement settlement). The special incentives for the 'Top-3' probationers' would be given choice posting. All probationers would have choice of stations, subject to availability with the tax department. The special cases for transfers and postings of female officers would be governed by notification of the Establishment Division. The DTL positions are to be confined within permissible limits, as prescribed by the federal government. Before making a transfer/posting decision, the skill set of the incumbent and that of the post under consideration be matched to identify a perfect fit. The IT skill requirement be specifically looked into, while making transfer/ posting orders.
One of the major features of the new policy is that the line members' recommendations would be given due consideration in respect of posting/ transfer pertaining to sensitive/senior positions. The supervising officers need to be consulted for making posting plan for one-step down positions. The FBR has also drafted a detailed mechanism and criteria for posting/transfer of officers. The relocation of officers needs to be done in a planned fashion, for which actions are required to be taken at various levels of implementation of posting /transfer plan. The calendar for annual posting/transfer plan should be notified on June 30, every year.
The career path may be followed, while designing mobility proposal. The input from field offices, for developing transfer/posting plan for the subsequent year, should reach to FBR HQ, by the end of December, each year. The transfer posting would not be done during mandatory training period of the officer (eg NIPA, NDC etc). The complete tenure, both at support and HQ positions may be made mandatory for all group officers.
After the completion of 5 years of service in field offices, the officer shall serve in support function (Directorates /Appeals). An officer shall be posted in FBR (HQ) for a period not less than two years after completing his tenure in support function. Post-transfer issues need to be examined in detail, so that the officer has a smooth switch-over, enabling him to pay attention to his core assignments.
Sources further said that the transfers and postings, other than tenure, may only be made on the grounds of integrity profile, exigency of service, non-availability of substitute, special orders (including judgements) of any superior authority/forum and/or compassionate grounds.
Sources said that the newly posted officer needs to have basic understanding, data and knowledge of his domain. He should be fully cognisant what is expected of him and what are the basic constraints, under which he has to perform his official duties. The dynamics of his new place of posting will enable him to make a workable strategy, in a planned manner. Actions required to be taken by HRM Wing covers Special Orientation Session/printed material, to be provided to the newly posted officer at new place of duty, including FBR's expectation from the newly posted officer; tax-profiles of taxpayers registered in area under control/supervision; management by objective plan is to be linked to Performance Evaluation; Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), relating to the job; potential bottlenecks faced during revenue collection, in the area/city etc; un-tapped revenue potential in the area/city/circle etc and internal and external stakeholders, within the jurisdiction.
If an incumbent requests to defer the transfer/posting order, FIRM Wing is required to develop the Mechanism to dispose of deferral requests, including the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP); time-frame; authority / authorised officer to make final decision. The tax officers are required to relinquish charge within seven days of issuance of posting orders. All official business conducted through on-line MIS be disabled after issuance of posting/transfer orders.
The MBO may then be linked to the new/proposed Performance Evaluation Reporting System, so that a fair evaluation can be made against pre-defined bench marks, made available to him at the time of his transfer. Deviations, if any and non-attainment of the targets may be recorded by the officer, in writing, so as to identify circumstances, beyond his control.
As per steps to ensure enforcement of the mobility/transfer policy through incentives, sources said that policy once made and approved, also needs to be strictly adhered to for which various incentives are introduced for those showing compliance including foreign trainings/deputations etc shall not be extended to officers having obtained choice posting on personal interest. The mobility/ transfer policy be notified for information of all concerned. The officers showing full compliance for posting/transfer orders be given preference for foreign training and deputation abroad etc. The rewards and bonuses be given to officers having shown compliance to posting/transfer decisions and also in cases where output and performance is difficult to measure and quantify, FBR policy added.