Singapore Sojourn for IRS Probationers
THE 61st batch of IRS probationers currently being moulded in NACEN had a Singapore sojourn as part of their training. Pray, what did they learn in Singapore? What training facility is there in Singapore which is not available in India? And NACEN is recognised as an international Centre of Excellence. Was the trip to Singapore at the cost of the nation a shopping trip or an excursion?
NACEN should include in its curriculum a compulsory attachment to an assessee/importer. The probationers should work in a firm/factory of an importer/manufacturer or Service Tax assessee for six months and do all the department related work there. Then they will have some practical experience of how the tax laws work and they will also understand the difficulties of the assessees over whom they are going to exercise their powers. This experience at practically no cost would be far more useful than a Singapore Sojourn!