ISLAMABAD (January 06 2004): Tax consultant Maxwell Stamps has proposed to the Central Board of Revenue (CBR) to set up a 'Programme Co-ordination Unit' (PCU) to monitor and facilitate smooth implementation of Pakistan Tax Administration Reform Programme (PTARP).
Sources told Business Recorder here on Monday that the PCU, headed by CBR Member Tax Policy and Reforms, would be instrumental in day to day co-ordination and management of the ongoing reforms by removing hurdles in time.
PCU will play an important role in keeping liaison with the international donor agencies. At the end of each financial year, the unit will submit annual progress report to the World Bank (WB).
Upon completion of each project under the reform strategy, an implementation completion report (ICR) will be prepared by the PCU, highlighting the project impact.
To properly carry out its functions, PCU management will comprise a project director, two procurement officers, an accountant and an administrative officer. The Programme Director will report directly to the Member (P and TR), and the rest of the PCU staff will report directly to the Programme Director.
The Programme Director is responsible for co-ordination of project and other donor-related activities within the CBR. To assist this team, external advisory support mainly in the development and implementation of procurement and disbursement procedures will be provided considering the limited experience of CBR.
PCU will have representation of all CBR Wings including Human Resource, audit and information management system (IMS).
The Unit will be responsible for short, medium and long-term strategies to meet the business challenges. It will ensure that investment in technology is cost-effective, producing the desired results.
The management of the unit will also play a key role in transforming CBR into a total automated organisation.
This will protect both the CBR revenue and interest of business community.
The tax consultant said that the PCU would have the assignment to ensure timely implementation of all the reform projects.
