Questions have arisen over the Inland Revenue Department’s selection process for officers assigned to the newly proposed Tax Crime Investigation Unit and Special Investigation Unit, set to be established under recommendations by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to combat tax fraud.
Internal sources reveal that three officers named in an internal transfer list have already been nominated for these units without following the prescribed process of interviewing and selecting qualified candidates. This has raised concerns about transparency and compliance with IMF guidelines.
The new divisions will replace the existing ‘Large Taxpayers Investigation Unit’ and ‘Investigation (Non-Large Tax)’ divisions within the department. To ensure qualified personnel for these specialized units, applications were invited from Senior Deputy Commissioners, Deputy Commissioners, and Assistant Commissioners, with a submission deadline of January 10, as communicated by the Commissioner General of Inland Revenue.
Despite this open call, many applicants have reportedly not been called for interviews. Instead, the department appears to have preemptively nominated officers via the internal transfer list, bypassing the evaluation process entirely.
These developments come as the Tax Crime Investigation Unit and Special Investigation Unit are scheduled to launch in February. Internal sources argue that appointing officers from the internal transfer list, without proper evaluation, undermines the IMF’s emphasis on placing skilled personnel in these critical positions to address tax fraud effectively.
The lack of adherence to the prescribed selection procedure has prompted unease within the department, with employees calling for transparency and merit-based appointments to ensure the success of these new units.
