MIRPUR (AJK): In Azad Jammu Kashmir the State Inland Revenue Department (IRD) has surpassed its annual tax revenue collection target of Rs 44 billion by collecting additional Rs 16 billion for outgoing 2023-24 fiscal year, official sources has said.
“The department registered tax collection of Rs 59.70 billion rupees by the close of the fiscal year 2023-24”, disclosed AJK IRD (South Zone) Commissioner Ishtiaq Ahmed while talking to reporter here.
He continued that it was expected that, when the final accounts were settled in a couple of weeks, the actual tax collection would go beyond Rs 60 biilion.
The department, he said, had effected surplus collection of 36% against the assigned tax target for the fiscal year and 44% against the tax collection of the preceding fiscal year i.e, 2022-23.
Ishtiaq Ahmed attributed the historical rise in tax collection to the policy of transparency and merit followed by Ch Anwar-ul-Haq, the Prime Minister of AJ and K and Ch Muhammad Raqeeb, Chairman Central Board of
Revenue.
Elaborating, he said that the prime minister, who was also the Minister Incharge of the department, and Ch Muhammad Raqeeb provided an enabling environment for the staff of the department where they could perform their duties with honesty, dedication and without any intervention from any corner.
The IRD commissioner said that the department had reportedly barely achieved its budgetary target of Rs 41.60 billion for the FY 2022-23.
Ishtiaq Ahmed said that the IRD which had been allegedly mired in the scandals of corruption, indiscipline and favouritism, in the past, was given a robust shake-up by the prime m0inister as he removed the officers from the key positions in the department for their alleged involvement in massive corruption malpractices and irregularities and replaced them with those of proven integrity in the department.
Lauding the outstanding performance of some of the senior officials of his department’s South Wing during their professional duties, the commissioner said that Dr
Shazia Habib and Syed Anser Ali also performed outstandingly during their stints as Commissioners IRD and contributed significantly in the mammoth achievement of the department.