KARACHI: The second meeting of the Board was held on Tuesday, October 8, 2024, at the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) headquarters in Islamabad. The meeting, presided over by Chairman FBR, was attended by Board Members.
Member (Admin/HR) presented a case for granting performance allowance to probationers undergoing Specialized Training Program (STP) at the IRS Academy in Lahore and Pakistan Customs Academy in Karachi.
The Board compared the salaries of probationary officers in IRS/PCS with other services and decided to verify the salaries/stipends provided at different academies. Member (Admin/HR) will bring this agenda item to the next Board meeting on October 24, 2024, after verification.
The Board also discussed reorganization of the Customs Department to align its structure on functional lines, ensuring unity of command and reducing overlaps. Key changes included redesignating the post of Chief Collector of Customs Enforcement (South) Karachi to Director General of Customs (Enforcement) in Islamabad and merging the positions of Chief Collector of Customs (Exports) Karachi and Director General of IOCO Karachi into Director General of Customs (Exports & IOCO). Additionally, the Chief Collector of Customs Enforcement (Punjab) Lahore was redesignated as Director General International Customs.
An administrative notification will be issued to operationalize the reorganized structure, with the offices under the re-designated posts of Director Generals being renamed accordingly.
The Board also discussed conducting sting operations by the re-organized Directorate General of Intelligence & Investigation – FBR (Customs). These operations will require prior approval from the Member (Customs Operations), with emergency cases needing post-facto approval within three days.
The meeting also covered the implementation of a prize scheme to encourage reporting of suspected invoices by customers through the Tax Assan App. Customers will report suspected invoices, providing necessary details, and the CIR will authenticate the invoices. Prize amounts will range from Rs. 10,000 to Rs. 20,000, based on the value of the suspected invoice, with five unverified invoices per CNIC per month eligible for prizes.
A pilot phase for the scheme will be launched in select malls in Islamabad from October 21-31, 2024, followed by a broader rollout in Islamabad from November 1-15, 2024. After approval from the next Board meeting, the scheme will be launched nationwide for all Tier-I retailers.
The Board approved a monthly budget of Rs. 53 million for the prize scheme and defined denominations and procedures as per the revised SRO. The suspension period between previous and current SROs was also acknowledged.
The Operations Wing will present further proposals in the next Board meeting.