Islamabad: The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has sanctioned a huge change in its reward system, which raises the reward ceiling of the Inland Revenue (IR) officials to 24 salaries to 18 salaries per financial year.
The FBR Board-in-Council made the decision at the third meeting in the fiscal year 202526 at the FBR Headquarters, which was chaired by the FBR Chairman.
Major Revision to Inland Revenue Reward Rules
The officials claim that the Board voted unanimously to amend the Inland Revenue Reward Rules, 2021, and increase the maximum cap on the number of rewards that employees receiving coverage under Rule 6 of the current scheme should get annually. The proposal was supported by senior board members with three members present at the time being on leave.
The Board noted that the new reward ceiling is meant to reward outstanding performance and to inspire the officers and enhance the productive work in the operations of Inland Revenue.
New Performance Evaluation Mechanism Introduced
An elaborate performance review system has also been accepted to make rewards eligibility fair and transparent. The Member (Admin and HR) informed the Board on the new structure, which will group the former cadres (BS-16 and above) and staff (BS-1 to BS-15) into performance levels.
Those levels will help them to decide their eligibility to quarterly rewards, which will be evaluated under a weighted scoring system of commissioners, assessment committees, and senior officials.
As the members raised concerns about the weightage given to the Assessment Committee, the Chairman and most members of the Board supported the suggested model.
Shift Toward an IT-Based Reward Assessment System
As part of a significant administrative modernization, the Board instructed PRAL to make the system of rewards a digital one. The new IT-based evaluation platform would be implemented in seven days and would guarantee quicker and more transparent reward evaluations.
Customs Reward Rules to Remain Unchanged
The Customs Reward Rules, 2012 were also reviewed during the meeting. Given that they already allow rewards of up to 36 months of basic salary, the Board decided that there was no need to make any amendments to the custom department at this point.
Cadre Officers to Remain Eligible
Suggestions on removing the cadres officers out of the reward system were rejected. Nevertheless, the Board voted to deliberate on the issue of special performance rewards to the cadres officers in its next meeting.
The move by the FBR to improve the reward ceiling and a new modernized evaluation system is part of the larger initiative to improve its efficiency in tax management, motivate employees of the Inland Revenue, and encourage meritocracy. The transition to the digital system of rewards is likely to increase the accountability and transparency of the process in the upcoming months.
