News
Crisis over new Tax Chief
While grappling to meet revenue targets, the Inland Revenue Department (IRD) is embroiled in a crisis over the appointment of the next Commissioner General.
The Cabinet of Ministers has requested a five-member interview board chaired by Presidential Secretary Lalith Weeratunga to pick the new Tax Chief.
It has been tasked to pick a suitable officer who could serve a minimum of three years. He or she should be selected on the basis of seniority and merit.
Other members of the board are the Secretary to Cabinet (or an additional secretary nominated by him), the Secretary to the Ministry of Technology and Research, the Secretary to the Ministry of Public Administration and Home Affairs and a Deputy Treasury Secretary nominated by the Secretary. The new Tax Chief should be appointed soon as the incumbent Commissioner General Mallika Samarasekara retires on July 28, an IRD official said.Ms. Samarasekera had moved up the ranks and her appointment in 2011 was smooth compared to earlier occasions when trade unions opposed the appointment of outsiders to this key post.
Now for the first time in the IRD, an interview was held earlier this month by a Finance Ministry interview board to select a suitable senior official for the top post. This was after a high level decision was taken to appoint the most suitable official considering seniority and competency, compared to earlier where the most senior IRD officer was automatically appointed to the post.
The two most senior officers at the IRD are Deputy Commissioner Gerneral K. A. P. Kaluarachchi and Senior Deputy Commissioner General H.B.A. Seneviratne. Mr. Kaluarachchi is on the verge of retirement while Mr. Seneviratne has been posted to the Finance Ministry as senior tax consultant. Therefore the selection has to be made from six other senior officials and