IRS Academy

44th MCMC/ 15th DST came to an end after 4 weeks filled with lectures, discussions, interactive sessions, presentations, mess night/ dinner, excusrion trip -- you name it!

The participants were a vibrant group of BS 18 officers from all over the country. Eminent speakers from within the department as well as private sector were invited for insightful learning sessions. The training included group presentations and write-ups on analyses of various industrial sectors from taxation point of view.

A passing out ceremony was conducted on 31st of October, 2025 where the participants were awarded certificates of training completion, followed by a sumptuous lunch.

Let's have a glance at these four weeks of DST:

On Friday, 10th of October, Member Admin FBR Mr. Muhammad Iqbal visited IRS academy, to address the probationary officers of 52nd Specialized Training Program, IRS and PCS.

A special Post Graduate Diploma program, in collaboration with LUMS, has been initiated for these officers, which will commence from 20th of October, 2025. This program will span over 9 months. Mr. Muhammad Iqbal addressed the probationary officers of Inland Revenue Service and Pakistan Customs Service regarding this academic initiative, and clarified questions they had in their minds.

Recently, there have been a host of renovations and repairs in the infrastructure of IRS academy. Capt. (Rd.) Arsam Aftab, Additional Director Admin gave a presentation to Member Admin on these changes, who appreciated these efforts. A tour of the entire premises of the academy was also conducted for Mr. Muhammad Iqbal.

Here are some glimpses from the day:

Merylin Vos Savant said,
"To acquire knowledge, one must study; but to acquire wisdom, one must observe."

Being the primary training institution for freshly inducted Inland Revenue Service Officers, IRS Academy aims at catering to both the above mentioned elements of learning. Our young probationary officers gain theoretical as well as hands-on practical knowledge of tax laws and accounting in the premesis of the academy, and for understanding the working of public as well as private organizations, IRS Academy arranges local and country study tours for them.

For the probationary officers of 52nd STP, a Country Study Tour (CST) was planned for Karachi, which was successfully conducted from 22nd to 26th of September, 2025. The five day tour consisted of days packed with back to back visits of various organizations and visitors' attractions such as Quaid e Azam mausoleum, Governor House, FBR field offices of IRS and Pakistan Customs, Sindh Revenue Board, Overseas Investment Chamber of Commerce and Industries, Pakistan Stock Exchange, certain industrial units and PAF museum. This written account of CST will remain incomplete without mentioning the hospitality extended to our officers by the Field Formations.

Here is a pictorial tour of the CST:

"Few individuals significantly alter the course of history. Fewer still modify the map of the world. Hardly anyone can be credited with creating a nation-state. Mohammad Ali Jinnah did all three."

Stanley Wolpert

To cherish the memories of Father of the nation and to pay homage to him, on his death anniversary, an extension lecture was arranged, titled "Quaid". Dr. Sikandar Hayat, Dean faculty of Social Sciences and Public Policy at FCCU, Lahore, who, to his credit, has a lot of research work on the Quaid in the shape of books and publications in different journals, was the guest speaker. The insightful session on our beloved Quaid's life was attended by the probationary officers of 52nd STP as well as faculty and the Director General, IRS Academy.

Our curious young officers asked our guest speaker candid questions about the life of Mr. Jinnah, which showed how he's cherished by our people.

We're a blessed nation to have been led by a leader like Mr. Jinnah. Let's never forget his struggles and fights he fought for our freedom.

The session ended with vote of thanks to the guest speaker and presentation of a shield, by the Director General.

As the saying goes;
“The more you sweat in training, the less you bleed in combat”.

The recruitment of new Inspectors Inland Revenue and 3rd party Auditors in IRS came with an added responsibility on IRS Academy for training them before they enter the field. A comprehensive 4-weeks training program for newly inducted Inspectors Inland Revenue, and two programs spanning over 3 weeks each for 3rd party Auditors were recently conducted by the Academy. A total of 400 Inspectors and 158 Auditors got trained under these programs.

For the number of trainees, being beyond the physical capacity of the Academy, these trainings had to be a mix of online as well as in person sessions. The monitoring effort was ably done by the respective field formations and ocassional checks were carried out by the faculty as well, by visiting a number of field formations.

Trainings in such huge numbers online has been attempted for the first time and managed flawlessly for which the faculty and the field administrations deserve appreciation. The training programs concluded with tests and immediate declaration of results.

Here is a visual tour of these training programs :

Happy Independence Day

In the perview of independence day of our beloved country, and as a continuation of extension lecture series, our next guest at IRS Academy was Professor Dr. Saeed Shafqat; an eminent social scientist of international repute. The FCCU Board of Governors in recognition of his meritorious services conferred on him the title of Distinguished Professor in 2023. He has also been awarded the Tamgha-e-Imtiaz in recognition of his services in the field of education, research, and teaching.

Dr. Shafqat has been Quaid-e-Azam Distinguished Professor and Chair (March 2001 – May 2005), Pakistan Center at the School of international Affairs and Public Policy (SIPA), Columbia University. Also, he was Chief Instructor Civil Services Academy of Pakistan, Lahore (1988 – 2001), where he imparted training to over 1500 under training officers (federal civil servants).

The very enlightening and thought provoking session on myths and realities of the Quaid’s vision about Pakistan, was attended by the probationary officers of 52nd STP as well as the faculty of the Academy. After the vote of thanks by the Director General, Pakistan's independence day was celebrated with a cake cutting ceremony and presentation of the shield.

Let's have a glance at the event:

At IRSA, we believe in imparting knowledge not only through books and academic sessions, but also with the help of extension lectures, where experts of various fields are invited.

An extension lecture was arranged at IRSA for officers of 52nd STP to be delivered by Dr. Adnan Qadir Khan- a Professor at the School of Public Policy at the London School of Economics and Political Science, and Co-Director of the Executive MPA/MPP programme. Mr. Qadir is currently on secondment as Chief Economist at the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, while continuing to teach at the LSE.

With over three decades of experience in research, Mr. Qadir has been affiliated with reputed institutions including Harvard, MIT, and Yale, as well as the Centre for Economic Research in Pakistan.

Our esteemed guest shared his views on economic growth, political economy, state fragility, and Taxation challenges faced by Pakistan. This informative session was not only attended by the probationary officers, but also by the faculty and the Director General IRSA, who later gave the guest speaker a vote of thanks.

Here is a pictorial view of the session:

Here's to new beginnings!

To welcome 52nd STP aboard as well as to celebrate the remarkable success of 51st STP in FPOE, a dinner was arranged by IRSA on the eve of 21st July, 2025.

The ceremony began with recitation from Holy Quran, followed by speeches by the President Mess Committee of 52nd STP and the FPOE topper of 51st STP. Learned faculty shared their thoughts and boosted the morale of new batch. Afterwards, Director General IRSA congratulated the successful batch on their unprecedented result, and the toppers were awarded with shields.

Additional Director STP Ms. Amra Sarwar conducted the event. The evening summed up with casual chit chat at IRSA mess while having a sumptuous dinner.

Here's a pictorial tour of the event:

Today marks the successful completion of yet another mid-career training - 14th DST. The 4-weeks journey from 16th of June till 11th of July has been a mix of academic activities, sports routines, and research assignments.

In order to ensure effective learning, the IST wing under the supervision of Director General IRSA chose seasoned professionals from both public and private sector. Participants of the training had sessions on tax policy, tax management, litigation, case studies, landmark judgements, international law, and accounting.

After a presentation by Course Review Committee, course completion certificates were awarded to the participants, and a souvenir was presented to the Director General IRSA from the entire batch, as a token of gratitude for the hospitality the institute showed during the Domain Specific Training.

Here are some glimpses of different activities and lectures that took place during the 14th DST:

51st STP!
You made us all proud, very proud indeed! What an amazing result you've shown in the FPO exams, a staggering 95.2% - highest ever in the history of IRS Academy.

Special congratulations to Mr. Humayun Imtiaz, Ms. Aleena Ahmed Sheikh, and Ms. Sahar Ali for grabbing 1st, 2nd, and 3rd positions respectively, of course not to forget the faculty and IRS Academy administration responsible for providing an enabling and conducive environment.

IRSA wishes all these bright young officers the very best for their future.

Keep shining 🌟

The Inland Revenue Service Academy proudly hosted the DNFBP Conference on Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Counter Financing of Terrorism (CFT). The event brought together distinguished speakers and domain experts to share key insights, regulatory developments, and strategic practices essential for strengthening financial integrity. The concluding day was also graced by Ms. Lubna Farooq, Director General - Financial Monitoring Unit (FMU); Mr. Jawad Ahmad Dogar, National Coordinator - National Counter Terrorism Authority (NACTA); Mr. Khalid Usman, Sr. Vice President - Lahore Chambers of Commerce and Industry; Mr. Ammar Javed, Deputy director NACTA; and Mr. Muhammad Waqas, Deputy Director - NADRA.

The Director General IRS Academy graced the closing session by distributing certificates of participation to attendees, marking the successful conclusion of an impactful and knowledge-driven event.

After having a fully loaded 4-week schedule of intense training, our 42nd MCMC batch has successfully passed out of their Domain Specific Training that was being conducted here at IRSA.

The batch consisted of 17 young officers of IRS, ready to have their role transformed from that of a unit officer to an Additional Commissioner. To strengthen their knowledge of taxation laws and building their leadership abilities, they were provided with diverse learning opportunities, group activities, and training sessions. Guest speakers from a host of various fields were invited to deliver lectures, from field experts of IRS to seasoned chartered accountants hailing from reputed firms. They had special training sessions on critical analysis of books of accounts to add to their auditing skills.

This was not possible without dedicated efforts of the Additional Director and the Director IST, as well as unwavering guidance of the Director General IRSA.

Let's have a look at the 4 week journey of 42nd MCMC at IRSA: