Islamabad:
The Pakistan Manager returned to Automation Limited (PRAL) refused to obtain a temporary extension in his mandate, creating new challenges for the government whose decision to close or restructure the entity has already sent undulations among the employees.
The Pral Board of Directors had offered CEO Amir Malik an extension until a new head is named, according to the correspondence seen by the Express PK Press Club. Pral serves the backbone of the tax system in Pakistan.
Malik’s prolonged mandate ends next week, which comes as well as Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has requested that Pral be wrapped and replaced by a more effective new entity.
Sources have said that Malik had not accepted the board of directors to remain temporarily, arguing that neither the Prost Board nor the Federal Board of Return (FBR) defended the organization before the Prime Minister. The government has not yet announced the position of Managing Director in the press.
Once contacted, a senior FBR official said that the government would hire a new full -time CEO on the market.
Malik did not respond to a request for comments.
The uncertainty about the first emergence of Pral emerged when the Prime Minister directed his closure last month. Later, the government said that the meeting report had not been properly recorded and that the Prime Minister wanted to restructure the PRRAL, not to arrest it.
After a story appeared in the Express PK Press Club, Pral Management and Board has published a declaration indicating that recent discussions on modernization had led to the decision to pivot the existing Pral structure to a new advanced organization as part of the FBR digital transformation strategy.
PRAL will offer improved feature, financial autonomy and technological innovation, guaranteeing world class experience for FBR and taxpayers, according to the press release.
He added: “We want to clarify that PRAL will continue its operations without interruption throughout this period. All current systems, services and support functions will remain fully operational to ensure that there is no disturbance for our stakeholders.”
The declaration has also added that the transition will be progressive, well coordinated and seamless, guaranteeing the stability of employees, users and customers at each stage.
The three -year initial mandate of the CEO had ended in February of this year, which the Pral Board of Directors extended for a term of six months, which will end next week.
The decision to close or restructure the PRAL has disrupted employees, which raises fears of employment security. According to sources.
The members of the Pral Board of Directors thought that Malik had asked for a note renewal instead of a short -term extension. They said that the board of directors would advertise for a new managing director, while Malik would have the opportunity to challenge the position. Given his experience, they have noted, he could have an advantage over other candidates.
The senior management of Pral was of the opinion that the entity was wrongly blamed for obsolete hardware and software systems, which reached the end of life and the end of the service and are a reason for the disturbances and the lack of availability of certain services.
They said the FBR did not want to close the STARR and faster systems completely completely, used for the treatment of tax reimbursements but that it still works on Oracle 8.
Taxpayers produce declarations and pay taxes via the PRAL system, which also serves as a deposit of all tax transactions. However, obsolete hardware and software have raised questions about the sustainability of services. The government had contracted a foreign loan in 2019 to upgrade systems, but deadlines have since escaped.
Management has also informed the Board of Directors that Pral has trouble hiring experienced professionals from the private sector, including a financial director and a product manager.
PRAL management had also requested the hiring of software platforms and the software development manager. The preselected names were sent to the board of directors some time ago, but there were delays in the finalization of the candidates, the sources said.
The FBR, which relies on PRAL for its digital dorsal thorn, has also extended the deadline for declaring income declarations until October 31, 2025, which can also help it avoid operational disturbances after the closure or restructuring of PRAL.
Last week, however, the board of directors said that despite the expected restructuring, the regular services will not be disrupted.
