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| Thursday, 2 September 2004 |
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Inland Revenue Dept goes for Rs. 100 million restructuring program by Irangika Range The Inland Revenue Department (IRD) will soon go for a new restructuring program under the theme "Modernisation Program for a New Tax Culture". The new project is geared to establish an efficient tax administration by utilising the-state-of-the-art technology and human resources. The Government's major revenue collector, IRD will obtain Rs. 100 million from the treasury to implement this new restructuring program. The IRD has appointed a steering committee consisting of all key officers of the department to ensure speedy implementation of the project. The steering committee will obtain consultation and monetary support from the Asian Development Bank to further develop this ambitious program. Secretary to the Finance Ministry Dr. P. B. Jayasundera addressing the 41st Annual General Meeting of IRD's Staff Officers' Association (IRSOA) in Colombo on Tuesday said that the IRD will not be privatised since it provides a key public and state service in the country. Dr. Jayasundera said that this new administrative and structural pattern would be subject to promoting the future prospects of all levels of employees in the department. "The necessity of a modernisation program is beyond any argument since the tax administration needs streamlining and transparent collection. The department has a major responsibility of increasing the contribution of the tax revenue to the Gross National Product, which would cater to the welfare of the public. The department should also provide the highest possible service to the taxpayer", he said. "Today the government is not engaged aggressively in investments, the whole income generation is based on the income tax, excise duty, VAT and customs duty. Therefore the department should lead to introduce the proper tax infrastructure, rules and regulations to increase the tax revenue. The department doesn't have sufficient tax trained officers as well as modern ICT infrastructure. These are the major problems faced by the department today. The department needs long-term professional training programs for tax officers. The local tax collecting procedure is old and we should follow the international standards to promote the tax procedure," he said. Commissioner General of IRD, K.Suseelar said that the IRSOA is playing a very active role in resolving some matters in the current process of restructuring and modernisation of IRD, to meet the fulfillment of the revenue targets of the government. "In addition to that it has been bargaining mainly on the job security and better working conditions including the rights and benefits belong to them as key, specialised and important government officers in the country. We hope that the proposed program will result in a better working environment for the officers enabling them to serve with dedication and towards enhanced revenue collection for the government," he said. |
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