MoF - MM AY/JUNE 2001 ISSUE 11 · 2018. 6. 18. · may/june 2001 issue 11 public information...

transcript

OF REVENUE AND CUSTOMS DEPARTMENT MINISTRY OF FINANCE BHUTAN

AY/JUNE 2001 ISSUE 11

RAINING ON HARMONISED SYSTEM AND WTO VALUATION AGREEMENT

AY/JUNE 2001 ISSUE 11

RAINING ON HARMONISED SYSTEM AND WTO VALUATION AGREEMENT

The Hon’ble Financ urce Persons from Malaysia with the course participants

& Customs. anida funds the course while resource persons deliver lectures free of cost.

raining is to impart in-depth and comprehensive knowledge in these subjects

ernational trade,

ment as these are also

m aims to draw greater participation so that more officials ould be benefited.

e Secretary, Director of DRC and Reso

An in country training program on Harmonized System of Nomenclature (HSN) and WTO Valuation Agreement started from 21 May, 2001 and will end on June 15, 2001. This training program is the first of its kind to be ever conducted in the country with resource persons from outside the country. It is also the first Training Program jointly conducted by AKMAL, Royal Customs Academy Malaysia and the Department of Revenue D The objective of the t

: HSN which is important for facilitation of smooth intcollection, comparison and analysis of trade statistics provisions of WTO Valuation Agreeincorporated in the new Customs Rules.

The training prograc

may/june 2001 issue 11 public information service,DRC. Ph 324357/Fax 323608 e-mail-drchq@mof.gov.bt

Harmonised System of Nomenclature Course

ffices, checkposts and Liaison and Transit office and Customs learing Agents.

Agreement which is eing used by most of the countries today, was greatly felt.

A total of 40 participants attended the first part of the course on Harmonized System of Nomenclature from 21 May – June 1, 2001 at BCCI Conference Hall. Participants included senior officials from the Head Office and Customs officials from all regional oC During the inaugural session, the Hon’ble Finance Secretary, Dasho Wangdi Norbu, graced the Opening Ceremony. In the opening address, the Chief Guest stressed on the importance and use of Harmonized System of Nomenclature (HSN) and Valuation that these are the most important areas in customs. With regard to valuation, he highlighted that Bhutan being in the process of acceding to the membership of World Trade Organization and World Customs Organization, the need for adopting the WTO Valuation b

may/june 2001 issue 11 public information service,DRC. Ph 324357/Fax 323608 e-mail-drchq@mof.gov.bt

2May/Jun 2001 - ISSUE 11 - Public Information Services, DRC. Ph 324357/Fax 323608. e-mail:- drchq@druknet.net.bt

TRAINING ON HARMONISED SYSTEM AND WTO VALUATION AGREEMENT

Resource Persons for HS Nomencla-ture Course:Mr. Roslan Bin Yusuf, 49, Senior As-sistant Director, Head of Classification,Management Board in CustomsHeadquarter. He has 25 years of experi-ence in Customs service in variousfields and has attended many seminarsorganised by WCO on Classificationin ASEAN and also was actively in-volved in making the Rule of Origin andASEAN Tariff Nomenclature.

Mr. MD Jazam Bin Md. Yasin, 49, Sen-ior Assistant Director, Technical Divi-sion in Customs Headquarter. He joinedCustoms in 1982 and has 25 years ofexperience in different technical fieldsrelated to customs.

Mr. Hassan Bin Ahmad, 50, AssistantDirector, Lecturer in Classification atAKMAL, Malaysia. He has 25 years ofexperience in Customs of which he wasin customs headquarter for 20 years and5 years in AKMAL.

Resource Persons for WTO ValuationCourse:

50, SeniorAssistant Director, joined Customs in1972 and currently is in the Post Clear-ance Audit in Customs Headquarter. Hehas over 29 years experience in Cus-toms.

Mr.Govindran Mutosamy, 45, Assist-ant Director, joined Royal CustomsMalaysia in 1980. He has over 5 yearsexperience in Valuation (WTO) and isin Customs Headquarter, Malaysia. Hehas over 21 years working experiencein Customs.

Mr.Abd. Malik Bin Mohamad, 46, As-sistant Director, joined Customs since1979. Prior to his joining the CustomsDepartment he was in the teaching pro-fession for 3 years. He has over 22years of experience in Customs in theImport and Export Section and in In-land Tax.

cilitate international trade with less cus-toms procedures and clearance facili-ties at the same time duty appropriatelycollected.

In general, the resource persons feed-back was that the participants are giv-ing fullest cooperation and taking keeninterest on the subject. However theysaid that DRC need data bases at everycheck post and therefore should becomputerised in the long run. They alsogave suggestions to form a TechnicalCommittee, Post Audit Clearance Unitand Preventive Section. Even in Ma-laysia, the WTO valuation was effectedfrom January 1, 2001 though thegroundwork was started since 1995.

Feedback on WTO valuation course :The participants said that the course isvery interesting and gained very goodknowledge. They said that it would bebeneficial and very useful when theWTO valuation is implemented.

Over all, the participants commentedthat the course was well organised andresource persons delivered their lecturevery well as they all have many yearsof experience in these related field. Theysaid they look forward to attendingsuch type of trainings in the future toupgrade their knowledge and keepabreast of such system in keeping withinternational norms and standard.

In conclusion, the resource personssaid that this was their first trip to Bhu-tan and that they are very happy to visita very beautiful country. They thankedthe Department of Revenue and Cus-toms for the good facility and hospital-ity. They appreciated being invited toshare their experience and said ‘hope-fully it is a beginning of more co-opera-tions and sharing of experience in thefuture’.

Feedback on the HS NomenclaturecourseAccording to some of the participants,they found the course very interest-ing, useful and related to their dailywork especially at the check post. Theysaid they gained a lot of knowledge asthey did not have much idea on theclassification with no training in suchfield earlier.

According to the Resource Personsfrom Malaysia, they said that there werevery good overall response from thecourse participants and said that theyabsorbed well and whatever deliveredwas quite well understood. They saidthey tried to deliver the class in the sim-plest way as majority of the participantshad no background and came from dif-ferent levels of posts. According to Mr.Roslan, he said, that the participantswere very attentive and took keen in-terest on the subject and hope that withthe knowledge gained from the course,they will classify goods correctly andbe able to use in their work.

For the WTO Valuation course, an-other group of resource persons whoare senior officials arrived from Cus-toms Headquarter, Malaysia.According to Mr. Ibrahim, “this is avery good program as everyone is in-volved for the course including seniorofficers as well as dealing officers fromfield. It is a very good strategy andstep as everyone will have knowledgeon the subject for policy and decisionmaking purpose”. He also mentionedthat Bhutan has enough time to pre-pare for WTO valuation and thus thecourse will give more opportunity topeople to learn on the subject. He re-marked that it is the starting point toform a Core Group for the Revenue &Customs Department and therefore itis very important for each officer/deal-ing official to know the procedures andmethods very well. He added that WTOis a concept that has been made to fa-

Continued from page 1

Mr. Ibrahim Bin Kaimi,

VISIT OF DANISH DELEGATION

EXPERIENCE AS A TAX COLLECTOR

A three member Danish Delegationfrom the Ministry of Taxation in Den-mark were in Bhutan as guests of theDepartment of Revenue and Customsfrom 8- 14 January, 2001. The Delega-tion comprising of Mr Erik BlegvadAndersen, Deputy Permanent Secre-tary and his spouse Mrs. Frida Nokkenand Mr. Preban Kristiansen, Vice Di-rector of Central Customs and Tax Ad-ministration were invited to Bhutanunder the twining arrangement require-ment for DRC and the Danish Ministryof Taxation under the Phase II DANIDAProject for Institutional Strengtheningof DRC.

During the visit, as an exchange of in-formation on January 9, 2001, a presen-tation of the Danish Tax System andBhutanese Tax System was made at theRoyal Banquet Hall by the Delegationand DRC respectively. The delegationalso visited the Thimphu Regional Of-fice and a dinner was also hosted bythe Finance Secretary.

Besides other places, the delegationalso visited Dodena, Tango, the Na-tional Institute of Traditional Medicine,

the National Library, in and aroundThimphu. Overnight excursions in-cluded visits to places such asPhobjikha, Gangtey valley, PunakhaDzong, Chimme Lhakhang with a finalovernight stop at Paro where they vis-ited the Rinpung Dzong and the Na-tional Museum.

YONGSEL interviewed the Delegationbriefly before their departure.......

Yongsel: What is the purpose of yourvisit?Official Bhutanese/Danish governmenttaxation exchange of experience. GoodGovernance Project.

Yongsel: What was your impression onBhutan before your arrival? How hasit been different?Very limited. Bhutan is a beautiful, dig-nified country with a great potential.Unspoiled by tourism, very kind, gen-tle and friendly people.

Yongsel: What are your views on theBhutanese Tax system?Simple but well adapted to the actualpolitical and economic stage.

Yongsel: How do you compare the com-puterized systems in DRC with that ofyour country?We had only a very short chance togather information about DRC compu-terization levels. But found solidprogress and skills.

Yongsel: What do you find interestingduring your stay in Bhutan?The genuinely kind and friendly peo-ple with traditions from 100 years backand yet well educated, modern facili-ties with great respect of Bhutaneseculture and religion. An outstandingexperience, once in a lifetime.

Yongsel: Did you face any major diffi-culties? With what memory do youleave this country?No difficulties whatsoever. All the bestwe ever experienced travelling all overthe world.

Yongsel: Any message to the employ-ees of DRC who would be reading thenewsletter?Your engagement in the creation of amodern society with due respect ofyour traditions and unique country andpeople is impressive and outstanding.

The trouble with tax collection is howto make a taxpayer happy about pay-ing taxes…….As a tax collector, the nature of our workinvolves with assessment and collec-tion of taxes, computing taxes, deter-mining taxes for who do not maintainbooks of accounts and meeting vari-ous types of taxpayers throughout theyear.While assessing the estimated BIT col-lection we encounter with various in-dividuals, using all the possible socialweapons in the battle to pay lessertaxes. The BIT assessment team is ac-companied by the Gup and Tshokpasof the business community who reportsdetails on number of children, husband,

wife and also on alcoholic or drug ad-dicted husband, death or sickness oraccidents in the family, divorce casesand even the little mishaps that tookplace. This is tax declaration I suppose.The point to note here is that actualdeclaration on the volume of businessactivities is very rare and almost silent.Collection is always accompanied withfolded hands, tears in eyes, fumes ofanger or curses and in some cases theybargain that they will give better nextyear. The only thing assured to us isthat the tax payer will never agree withthe sum we have fixed, when they fi-nally agree, the few words chanted are“thab mei, zhung gi ba sho zhay da lu,phue go, zhung rang dhen”.

Reasonableness of taxes...We try toreason out that the tax imposed is veryreasonable to the volume of businessbut…. to a taxpayer, reasonablenessmeans exemption, or at par with theminimum payer irrespective of the sizeand volume of business.

Then we argue that the possible solu-tion to arrive at a reasonable tax couldbe done if they had maintained a sim-ple account but lack of education andexpertise is put right at the front for notaccepting such solution. Then stockwas used as alternate but what is dis-played is often argued as old unsoldstock piled over the years or is hiddenbefore the assessment team arrives.

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MEMORIES OF MY STAY IN BHUTAN

COMING UP ......

Head Office, retired on 31st January 2001after working in the Department for over29 years. He comes from Calcutta, Indiaand was first was appointed in the RoyalGovernment of Bhutan on July 10th 1972 atLhotsham Chichap Office of SarpangDzongkhag.

In this article below, Mr.Ghosh shares someof his old-time experience and describeswhat he has seen and encountered duringhis working tenure in Bhutan.

First appointment…Initially I came at Kokrojar (Assam) to visitmy uncle and I heard about Bhutan.I came to Bhutan sometime in December1971 and stayed for a few days on a visit. Imet the then Commissioner of SouthernBhutan and he offered me the service underhis kind control and officially I joined on10th July 1972 in the government service.My initial pay was Nu.325 i.e. basic payNu.175 and daily allowance (DA) Nu.150.I chose to work in Bhutan as I preferred theatmosphere and I liked the place speciallySarpang and decided to join in the service.I had joined first in the Lhotsham ChichapOffice at Sarpang. I was then 25 years old.This was my first career in service. I learntin Calcutta and obtained Commerce Degree(B.Com) from Calcutta University.

The office of Lhotsham ChichapI joined in the office of Lhotsham Chichap,Sarpang i.e. Commissioner Office at South-ern Bhutan. This office controlled allDzongkhags/Dungkhags located undersouthern/eastern belt of the country. TheLhotsham Chichap Office was controlleddirectly by the Ministry of Finance andwas an independent unit of the Royal Gov-ernment of Bhutan.

Mr.S.K.Ghosh,Assistant Fi-nance Officerfrom RevenueAccounts andAudit Division,

In those days all the offices viz. Hydel,PWD, Forest etc. were controlled by theLhotsham Chichap Office and also alltypes of development work of Southernbelt were being carried out under the con-trol by that office. There was no RevenueOffice as such and Customs was an inde-pendent unit under the Ministry of Finance.It is difficult to give any comments on thecomparison of the present department withthe previous one as no Revenue office ex-isted at all when I joined in the Ministry ofFinance during the early 70s.

At that time, in southern/eastern belt, therewere SDO offices i.e. Sub Division Officeswhich were all controlled by the LhotshamChichap Office of Sarpang. The responsi-bilities of present DRC and LhotshamChichap Office was quite different. Theoffice was called as civil office of the RGOB.

Worked with a number of BossesI have worked under so many Dashos andsenior officials during my service period.Some of the names are mentioned below;Lyonpo D.Tshering, the then Finance Sec-retary of Ministry of FinanceDasho Pema Tenzin, the then Head of Rev-enue DivisionDasho K.B.Basnet, Director of RevenueDivisionDasho Tshering Wangdi, Director Generalof Revenue & Customs DivisionDasho Bap Kesang, Joint Secretary of Rev-enue & Customs DivisionDasho Nima Wangdi, present Director ofRevenue & Customs Department.

Changes seen during my entire workexperienceI have seen lot of changes in Bhutan duringmy entire service period and through mywork experience. So many Acts, Policies,Rules & Regulations have been framed andadopted in Royal Government in the in-terest of the public of Bhutan which arehelping the people of Bhutan for safeguard-

ing their better living and protecting thefuture generation of the kingdom.

In seeing the recent trend of economicgrowth of the country, I feel that the De-partment of Revenue & Customs will beone of the most important and a big depart-ment in the next 20 years.

Memorable dayThe first day visit in Sarpang i.e. sometime

in December 1971 was the most memora-

ble day for me. On seeing beauty of nature,

I was really overwhelmed and taken in by

the unique place with unique culture and

decided to stay in the country. I had never

seen such natural beauty before coming to

Bhutan.

I leave this beautiful country after workingand living here in Thimphu for over 29years. I have visited most of the places inBhutan specially all southern/eastern belton different jobs assigned by the respectiveHeads of the department. During my entireservice period i.e.10th July 1972 to 31st Janu-ary 2001, I have not faced any major diffi-culties of any nature. In fact it is worthmentioning here that during my service pe-riod, I got help and assistance from all mysenior officers and colleagues which I willnot forget in my life. I had a good relation-ship with all my colleagues. Most impor-tantly I had a very good association withmost of the people which I will never forget.At the time of leaving Bhutan, I really feelbad as I will miss all my Bhutanese friends.I will never forget my Bhutanese friendsand associations and I shall always cher-ish the memories of my stay in the beautifulKingdom of Bhutan. Lastly, I wish the DRCmembers to do your best on behalf of thisdeserving department.

Tashi Delek!

S.K.GhoshAsstt.Finance Officer

A CORPORATE TAX ACCOUNTANT IN BHUTAN – THE LAST SHANGRI LA Mr Anand Raj Naidu, VSA

Mr Anand Raj Naidu, VSA came toBhutan and joined the Department inSeptember 1999 for a term of twoyears. He was attached to the Tax Ad-ministration, Head Office.He will becompleting his term in August 2001and return to New Zealand with hisnewly wed Bhutanese wife. The staff ofDRC wish Anand “ Good Luck” in hisnew posting back home.In this article below he shares hisviews, impression of Bhutan and hisexperiences during his stay as VSA inBhutan.

Amongst the midst of the clouds, far -far away in the Himalayas about 2500meters above the sea level exists thehustle and bustle capital of Bhutan –Thimphu. If we were visiting thereabout 42 years ago we would be climb-ing all the way from the foothills of In-dia, meeting tribal people and it wouldprobably take us six days and sevennights (pun intended) to reach there. Imay not be a Harrison Ford but if I letmy imagination run then I do feel likeone. I was also told before my depar-ture from New Zealand that Bhutanwants to sustain its culture and alsodevelop with caution.

As you enter Thimphu, you find wellorganized departments, well maderoads, Mobile phones, Mercedes Cars,Prado Jeeps, Toyota Hilux’s, Japaneseimport cars, Indian assembled cars,shopping arcades, three & four starhotels, cable TV (28 channels),kelvinator fridge’s, microwave ovens,electronic washing machines, modernelectronic equipment’s, cybercafe’s,Karaoke bar and a supermarket.Alas I am nearly back home. Lookingat the pace of development that hastaken place I then become baffled. Istart to question my self on whetherthis country really does require our (asin VSA’s) help.

There was once a famous poet whowrote “life is like a bed of roses andpeople represent the smell, etc, etc…”and then he concluded abruptly bysaying, “then you wake up”. To me thissignified my perception of my assign-ment.

My name is Anand Raj Naidu. I wassent from New Zealand as a VSA vol-unteer to work as a finance officer inthe taxation department in Bhutan. Myresponsibilities were to look at the cor-porate and business income tax insti-tutions, identify ways to streamline theprocedures for tax assessment and col-lections and review tax policies to-gether with my Bhutanese counterpart.The job sounded very exciting and thefeeling that you will be involved in thedevelopment phase of revision of a taxsystem sounded equally challenging.

During my briefing I was led to beliefthat I would have difficulty in obtain-ing good brushes, toilet paper and othernecessary items important for uswesterners. So believe me I came pre-pared within the very generous 50-kgshipping weight allowed by VSA.

As I entered Paro for the first time, com-ing outside from the plane, I felt that Ihad indeed gone back slightly in timeand was in a unique oriental paradise.From the beautiful landscape, I couldunderstand why this place was calledthe last shangri la. Then our pro-gramme director – Mr. Roger Redpathalong the amazing windy and narrowroads drove me to the capital. I wasglad that I had a strong stomach andthank goodness I reached the capitalwithout puking. That was my entry intoBhutan.

Now I am about three months awayfrom finishing my contract and it is thecorrect time to have a flashback on myachievements. If you live in a countryfor a while, the beauty of the terrain’sand landscape seems normal to youuntil you have left the country or whenyou hear some tourists show awe to-wards it. During my tenure I wouldsometimes feel that the mountains andvalleys only surrounded me and Iwould miss the beautiful beaches in FijiIslands and okay to good beaches inNew Zealand. I have done enough phi-losophizing and I should really getdown to the details. To me personallythis country has been the last Shangrila to its thorough meaning. I have metthe girl of my dreams and my life. I have

been appreciated for my work done andalso importantly I have been instru-mental in bringing cricket as a recog-nised sport in to Bhutan (I even hadmy name recognised by the Interna-tional Cricket Council in their monthlymagazine as a coordinator of cricket inBhutan).

In the department I have had the op-portunity of doing the following work.For the first six months I spent more ofmy time trying to understand the cul-ture and the tax system practically ap-plied in Bhutan. I tried to analyze howmuch of the written work was appliedin the field. Later on I had been involvedin the drafting stages of the tax legisla-tion. I had done various field audits withthe regional staffs in Thimphu andPhuentsholing working especially inareas of constructions, financial insti-tution and trading sector. I had alsotaught with short spans the CertificateFinancial Management, Diploma Finan-cial Management, postgraduate Certifi-cate Financial Management, Depart-ment of Revenue & Customs and Min-istry Of Finance candidates in the RoyalInstitute of Management. My focuswas mainly on the areas of basic ac-counting principles and assessmentprocedures. I had also worked togetherwith my colleagues on doing a feasibil-ity study on how to move BST frompoint of entry to the point of sale. Cur-rently I am working with my colleagueson designing a course on how tostreamline the assessment processesto ensure effective tax collection.

I have to now review whether I havebeen working within the boundaries ofVSA goals. I feel that I have and myneed was warranted. Though develop-ment is happening at a fast pace, themethod of dealing with that progressshould be thought of carefully. This isthe reason why I was brought here and,think I have done well. So I have learntan important lesson of not judging thebook by its cover. I appreciate what hashappened in my life and I would like toend this article by saying Tashi Delek(Good fortune).

ADMINISTRATION & PERSONNEL

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July 2000 promotionsCongratulations

Let us, then, be up anddoing,With a heart for any fate;Still achieving, stillpursuing,Learn to labor and to wait.

-HENRY WADSWORTHLONGFELLOW

1. Pema Yangzome Under Secretary VI Thimphu2. Sonam Tenzin Asstt.Director VII HQ,DRC3. Tshering Norbu Dy.Inspector XIII Thimphu4. Phuntsho Deki Computer Operator XIII Thimphu5. Rinchen Dorji Dy.Inspector XIII Phuentsholing6. Roma Tamang UDC XIII Phuentsholing7. Namgay Dukpa Dy.Inspector XIII Phuentsholing8. Dawa Gyeltshen Dy.Inspector XIII Phuentsholing9. Sonam Topgyal UDC XIII Lottery Directorate10.Shanti Dhital UDC XIII Lottery Directorate11.Tharchen Dorji Dy.Inspector XIII Samdrup Jongkhar12. Sangay Wangchuk Asstt. Accountant XIII Samdrup Jongkhar13.Sangay Dorji Asstt. Inspector XIV Phuentsholing14.Sonam Dorji Asstt. Inspector XIV Phuentsholing15.Mickle Chhetri LDC-I XIV Phuentsholing16. Tshewang Rinzin Asstt. Inspector XIV Phuentsholing17.Chhador Tshering Asstt. Inspector XIV Samdrup Jongkhar18.Karma Deling Asstt. Inspector XIV Samdrup Jongkhar19.Ugyen Tenzin Asstt. Inspector XIV Samdrup Jongkhar20.Sangay Wangmo LDC-I XIV Samdrup Jongkhar21.Bal Bahadur Tamang Jr.Inspector XV Samtse22.Rajesh Pradhan Driver XV Phuentsholing23.Dawa Penjor Driver XV HQ,DRC24.Karma Yangzom LDC-II XVI Thimphu25 Chama Rinchen WBO XVII P/ling26.Sonam Gyeltshen Peon GSC-I Thimphu27.Damcho Norbu Peon GSC-I Phuentsholing

Source: HRD & ADM Section

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Designation Grade Place

ELECTRONIC FILING SYSTEMMs Sonja Davidsen, Tax Advisor, hasinitiated the groundwork for the elec-tronic filing system for the Department.The main objective is to have a stand-ardized and improved filing system inthe Department. The management in thehead office had a series of meetingsand the different Divisions are yet tofinalise the filing index. It is expectedto be implemented from July 2001. Onceit is successfully implemented in theHead Office, the electronic filing sys-tem will be adapted in the Regional Of-fices.

MANAGEMENT COORDINATIONMEETINGThe Management Coordination Meet-ing is held in the Head Office everymonth. During the meeting each Divi-sion reports on the progress of monthly

office activities, project activities andfollow up on the pending work andthrashes out core problems. During thelast meeting held in April 2001, one ofthe main outcome was that the pend-ing audit issues with the Royal AuditAuthority were discussed in detail inthe management.

POSITION CLASSIFICATIONFORMAs per the instruction of the Royal CivilService Commission (RCSC), all minis-tries and departments had to submitPosition Classification Form to RCSC.Position Classification is process ofgrouping together positions that aresimilar with respect to duties and re-sponsibilities so that they can betreated the same way for purpose ofdetermining appropriate position title,minimum recruitment and selection

qualification, equitable compensation/salary grade allocations and other per-sonnel actions. It is based on the prin-ciple of Equal Pay for Equal Work.This activity is a part of the restructur-ing exercise of the government takenup during the year 2000.

MILESTONESRETIRED:Mr. S.K.Ghosh, Assistant Finance Of-ficer from Revenue Accounts and Au-dit Division, DRC retired on 31st Janu-ary 2001 after rendering over 29 yearsof dedicated service to the department.Mr.Ghosh alias Ghosh Dorji (Bhutanesename) is very hard working and sin-cere. He was first was appointed in theRoyal Government of Bhutan on July10, 1972.The Staff of DRC wish Good Luck inhis new venture!

Continued on page 10

Ex-Country Training: November to March 2001

Trainings funded by Danida, RGOB and other Agencies

Course on Import & Export procedures, passenger & cargo handling/clear-ance at Royal Customs Academy (AKMAL), Malaysia: November 14 - 24,2000 - funded by Danida

1. Mr. Phuntsho Tobgay Dy. Director DRC, HQ2. Mr. Karma Dorji Asst. Inspector DRC, HQ3. Mr. Kesang Asst. Inspector RRCO, P/Ling4. Mr. Tendang Wangdi Jr. Inspector RRCO, P/Ling5. Mr. Tshewang Rinzin Asst. Inspector RRCO, P/Ling6. Mr. Lhab Tshering Asst. Inspector RRCO, P/Ling7. Mr. Dorji Wangdi Dy. Inspector RRCO, S/Jong8. Mr. Pema Wangchuk Asst. Inspector RRCO, S/Jong9. Mr. Pem Norbu Asst. Inspector RRCO, P/Ling10. Mr. Tshering Nidup Asst. Inspector RRCO, Samtse11. Mr. Phurba Thinley Asst. Inspector RRCO, Samtse12. Mr. Kesang Jigme Asst. Inspector RRCO, Gelephu13. Mr. Rajen Thapa Jr. Inspector RRCO, Gelephu14. Mr. Jangchuck Dorji Asst. Inspector LTO, Calcutta15. Mr. Chencho Dorji Asst. Inspector LTO, Calcutta

Course on Effective Approach in Passenger Examination at the Royal Cus-toms Academy (AKMAL), Malaysia: January 29 to February 10, 2001 –funded by Danida

1. Mr. Sonam Dorji Superintendent RRCO, Gelephu2. Mr. Rinjay Dy. Superintendent RRCO, Thimphu

Customs Management Technique Course conducted by Customs Adminis-tration at IRS, Singapore: February 26 - March 3, 2001 – funded by Singa-pore Colombo Plan

1. Mr. Zamtsho Tshering Joint Director DRC, HQ2. Mr. S.P Pradhan Dy. Collector DRC, HQ

Study tour on Control Procedures of Factory, Distillery & Warehouse atColombo, Srilanka: March 18 - April 3, 2001- funded by Danida

1. Mr. B.R. Pokhrel Dy. Director DRC, HQ2. Mr. Dechen Dorji Excise Inspector RRCO, Samtse

Seminar on Customs Valuation & Commercial Fraud at National Academyof Customs, Excise &Narcotics (NACEN), New Delhi: March 19 - 31, 2001– funded by Government of India and Royal Government of Bhutan

1. Mr. Karma Tshulthrim Under Secretary DRC, HQ2. Mrs. Yeshey Sedon Superintendent RRCO, Thimphu

Workshop on Precursor Control for Senior Regulatory and Law Enforce-ment Officials from SAARC countries at New Delhi, India from May 8 – 10,2001 – funded by UNDCP

1. Mr. Rinjay Dy. Superintendent RRCO, Thimphu

Ex-country Training information source: HRD & Personnel Section

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In-Country Training: January -June 2001

1. Induction Course: March 5 - June 29, 2001, funded by DanidaThe Induction Course for the fifthbatch of Customs and Excise in-spector trainees commenced fromMarch 5, 2001 at the RIM, Simtokha.They have completed the Speciali-sation Course on Customs and Ex-cise. The different Divisions alsotook classes to familiarize them withthe functions of different divisionsand systems. Currently they are onthe job training at RRCO Thimphu.

2. BACS System AdministratorTraining from 7 – 31 May,2001 funded by Danida

M/S Strabus, BACS developer,conducted the training on BACSAdministration at the Regional Rev-enue & Customs Office Gelephu.Ten computer programmers of thedepartment and regional offices at-tended the course who will be theBACS administrators. The coursewill help in the maintenance of thesystem once BACS is implemented.

Coming up……. During Septem-ber 2001, M/S Strabus will be con-ducting the users training courseto familiarise the users with theBACS system.

3. Course on HS Nomenclatureand WTO Valuation : May 21– June 15, 2001 conductedjointly by the Department ofRevenue and Customs of Bhu-tan with the Malaysian Cus-toms Administration- funded byDanida.

QUOTESThe purpose of education is toreplace an empty mind with anopen one.

- MALCOM FORBES

Education is an admirable thing,but it is well to remember fromto time that nothing that is worthknowing can be taught.

- OSCAR WILDE

DIVISIONS - HQ

AROUND THE

Continued on page 9

Information Division

RRCOThimphu

RRCOSamtse

RRCOPhuntsholing

RRCOSamdrupJongkhar

RRCOGelephug

RRCO: Thimphu

Revenue Audit & Accounts

Taxation Policy 1992: Suggestionsfrom the Annual General Meeting ofthe department has been compiled andput for further revision of the TaxationPolicy 1992.Sales Tax: The collection of sales taxon beer has been shifted to point ofsales with effect from April 1st as a partof the effort to shift the collection ofsales tax from the point of entry tosales.

The Head of Customs & Excise, MrZamtsho Tshering undertook the Re-gional Tour. During the tour, he visitedall the check posts including the remotecheck posts in all regional offices.

Trade Statistic Report (TIS) for the year1999 has been published and circulated.

National Revenue Report for FiscalYear 1999-2000 has been published andcirculated. The half yearly NationalRevenue Receipt for the first half ofFiscal Year 2000-2001 was also com-piled.The Division was busy resolving theaudit memos raised by the Royal AuditAuthority on the Department and Re-gional Revenue & Customs Offices. Af-ter making substantial process a meet-ing with RAA and DRC was initiatedand subsequently the issue of auditclearance has now resumed.The revised revenue projections for thenext year and the 9th FYP has also beenprepared for further submission to theRoyal Government.

Customs & Excise Division

Tax Administration Division

Computer Section:BACS status: With the completion ofdevelopment by March 2001, trainingaspect and system acceptance alongwith the implementation will continuetill September 2001.Mr. Otto Vie, a Danish IT Consultantcompleted the quality assessment con-trol exercise on BACS that was preparedby M/S Strabus and presented the re-port and findings to the Managementduring January 2001.LAN : LAN along with proxy server hasbeen successfully set up in theHeadquarterRegional Offices atGelephu and Samdup Jongkhar. As forParo Customs, it was decided to takeup jointly with other various agencieson the set up of LAN facility there.The work on setting up WAN betweenMOF, DRC, DBA and DADM has alsostarted and is expected to complete byend of June 2001.

Public Information Services (PIS):Besides giving tax awareness informa-tion through radio and newspaper, PIShas also started advertisements in tel-evision starting from beginning of theyear 2001. The section is working to-wards bringing out a booklet on “DRCat a Glance” which will contain generalinformation of the department and itsfunctions.PIS is also preparing information dis-play board for the Paro Airport Cus-toms in coordination with Customs andcurrently the section is engaged withcoordination of training equipment forthe in-country training on HSN andWTO Valuation at BCCI Hall.

In the Head Office, a Legal Unit hasbeen established starting from Janu-ary 2001. The unit will be responsiblefor all legal matters and litigant casesof the department in co-ordination withthe Tax and Customs Division. Cur-rently Mr. Khandu Dorji, Customs In-spector, has been appointed in this newunit.

The new four-storeyed Duty Free Shopcomplex is completed and the interiorpart is expected to complete during thenext half of the year and the Duty FreeShop in the new complex operationalbefore the end of the year.The Thimphu Regional Revenue &Customs Office will be shifting to thenew complex first floor and above.

DUTY FREE SHOP:

LEGAL UNIT:

Book Keeping and TDS WorkshopThe RRCO, Thimphu in collaborationwith Entrepreneurship Promotion Cen-tre, MTI conducted workshop on ba-sic book keeping and TDS for the tax-payers under Thimphu regional office.The main objective of the workshopwas to teach basic book keeping forthe taxpayers who are not maintainingbooks of accounts and also to clarifyon the 3% and 2% Tax Deducted atSource (TDS) and to explain the ra-tional for such deductions.

The workshop was conducted cover-ing all six Dzongkhags as follows: 19 – 22 December, 2000 EPC Train-ing Hall, for taxpayers of Thimphu.

RRCO: Gelephu

RRCO: S/Jongkha

RRCO: Samtse

29 - 30 2000 Y.T Conference Hall atLobeysa for taxpayers of Punakha,Wangdue and Gasa. 3 - 4 January, 2001 at NIE Hall, fortaxpayers of Paro and Haa.

A total number of 250 taxpayers par-ticipated in the workshop. We alsohope to have more workshops of suchkind to educate our taxpayers.

Reported by: Namgay WangchukTax officer

Export Tax on orange transactions:Restrictions were imposed for the move-ment of Bhutanese vehicle includingbuses through the Indian territory as aresult of the attack on our Bhutanesetwo buses during last December atGossaigaon in Assam, India. However,private vehicles carrying oranges andother goods are issued with ExportDeclaration Form to transport thegoods at their own risk to the Indianstates and Bangladesh. Due to the risksinvolved, the orange exporters had cho-sen to transport their oranges throughthe lateral route via Phuentsholing toIndia.This practice involves total exemptionfrom export tax as no tax is applicablefor which oranges are transported fromone region to another within Bhutan.This ultimately reduces the total col-lection of revenue for the particular re-gion from where the goods have origi-nated the export tax is collected at thepoint of export. This year the followingorange transactions had been recordedat Rinchending check post dispatchedfrom Gelephu region for the period fromDecember 2000 to February 2001:December 200024,27,650 nos. of oranges, 10,886 ponsof oranges1,321 boxes and 4 tonnes of orangesJanuary 20011,55,18,710 no. of oranges, 15,067 boxes

of oranges76,235 ponds of oranges and 53,470 kgsof orangesFebruary 200168,02,970 nos. of oranges, 5,707 boxesof oranges18,491 ponds of oranges and 7,600 kgsof oranges

Besides, people of Bhur and otherneighboring villages after their pro-longed lounge had completed a newbridge over Bhur Chhu, hoping thatupon its completion, business trans-action will be smoothened and increasethe revenue collection. But unfortu-nately, due to the last monsoon flushflood, there has been severe damageswhich hampered the transportation ofcash crops to India during the peakseason and this has affected the col-lection of Sarpang and Ranibagancheckposts. Likewise, we don’t knowwhat would happen tomorrow?

Reported by: Pema Wangchen Superintendent of Customs

Seizure of Copper Assignment: I twas 10AM in the morning on 14th No-vember, 2000. There was a long line oftrucks with various consignments wait-ing for their turn to enter Bhutan atSamdrup Jongkhar main checkpost andamong the line was a truck loaded withsand. While the driver of the truckrushed towards the RBP counter andthen to forest counter for entry, a manwith streams of sweat flowing throughhis cheeks was restlessly waiting forthe gate to open.

Customs Officials on duty at firstthought, not to bother the man as helooked genial and innocent, but some-how he couldn’t hold himself andblankly asked “what is beneath the

sand?”. The questions which customsofficials usually use to test check theintegrity of the importer and as a magi-cal weapon to apprehend them. Nosooner the man heard this; it sent himelectrical shock. He blushed red andstarted behaving in a suspicious way.Therefore, to a seasoned Customs In-charge, this type of suspicious behav-iour that smugglers usually exhibitedwas not new and it did not take long tofind out the truth.

The truck was then immediately de-tained and physical verification wascarried out in the presence of RBP andForest Officials which revealed theshocking discovery - there were 9gunny bags of copper and brass plateshidden beneath the sand to be smug-gled into Bhutan by a Bhutanese busi-nessman. Though the man gave vari-ous lame reasons for his depraved con-duct, the consignment was immediatelyseized as per the rules and is waitingdisposal through auction.

Reported by: J.B.Tamang, Asstt.Collector of Customs

TDS Workshop

The Regional Revenue and Customsoffice Samtse conducted a one-dayworkshop on the Tax Deducted atSource on January 22, 2001 funded byDanida Project at the NIE Hall. Fromthe Head Office, PIS coordinated andfacilitated with the training aid equip-ment for the workshop.

The Dzongdag of Samtse Dzongkhag,Dasho Sherub Gyaltshen graced theopening ceremony for the workshop.Over 80 participants including taxpay-ers and officials of government agen-cies and corporations attended the oneday workshop.

Recently, the region conducted seriesof workshops on Book Keepingfolows: May 24, 2001 at Sibsoo May 31, 2001 at GomtuJune 11, 2001 at Samtse.

TRANSFERS:During this Janaury 2001, a few of ourold staff got transferred to different or-ganisations/offices as follows:Ms Rinchen Tshomo, Deputy ChiefAccountant,Tax Administartion, DRC,is transferred to Power Department atthe Kanglung Branch,TashigangDzongkhag. She joined the Departmentin 1984 in the Sales Tax section underTax Administration Division. She hasworked over 16 years in DRC.

Ms.Tshering Zangmo, Accountant,joined the Department since 1986 in theAdministration and Accounts Divi-sion. She is now transferred to Finance& Accounts Division, NRTI, Lobeysawith effect from January 2001. Sheworked in the Department for 14 years.

Mr. Tshewang Namgay, Revenue

Clerk, from Rural Tax Unit, DRC is trans-ferred to Punakha Dzongkhag Admin-istration in Revenue Section as now theRevenue Section will be administeredby revenue personnel in theDzongkhags. He joined in the Depart-ment in 1981 in the Compilation Sec-tion and has worked for 20 years.

Mr.Gyaltshen, Asstt. Accountant fromRural Tax Unit, RRCO Gelephu is trans-ferred to Tsirang Dzongkhag. He joinedin the Department in 1986 in the Rev-enue Compilation Section.

Mr. Tshewang Dorji, Office Assistant,from Rural Tax Unit , RRCO SamdrupJongkhar is transferred to the SamdrupJongkhar Dzongkhag Administration inthe Revenue Section. He joined theDepartment in 1984 in the RevenueCompilation Section and has workedfor 16 years.

TERMINATEDMr.Lungten Dorji, Dy.Excise Inspec-tor from RRCO Thimphu has been ter-minated from the service from 31.8.99due to misappropriation of Excise rev-enue.Mr.Singay Dukpa and Mr.TshetenDuba, Assistant Inspectors of RRCOGelephu, were terminated on 21.11.99due to the involvement in the misap-propriation of revenue in SKO deflec-tion case.Mr.Chhoda Dorji, Revenue Clerk,RRCO Thimphu, has been terminatedfrom the service on 4.1.2001 due to in-volvement in a litigation case.

ABSCONDED Mr.A.B.Chhetri, Sub Inspector, RRCOGelephu, absconded since 2.11.99 dueto the misappropriation of revenue inthe SKO deflection scandal.

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Regional Staff of Thimphu Joinsthe Re-storation Force in Taktshang for a Day

Volunteerism is a valuable gift that wehave inherited from our ancestors andeven to this date of the new century, itis widely practiced in this beautifulcountry. To live up with this tradition,a nineteen-member team climbed thesteep slopes of the Tiger’s Nest(Taktshang) on the morning of 18th

November 2000, corresponding to theDescending Day of Lord Buddha. Theteam had a simple mission to give aproductive hand in the restoration ofthe only Taktshang Monastery in theuniverse, our precious one.

We worked for eight full hours mainlylifting stones and timber from the near-est cable crane site to the construc-tion site and completed the special as-signment to clear the unwanted mate-rials from one of the completed monas-tery so that they could start up withother finishing works. We completed

the assignment given to us very wellas we have received notes of apprecia-tion from the local workers and fromthe officers.

The chilly night by the fire in the openspace was also much enjoyed with con-versations and debates ranging fromtaxes, likes and dislikes, family mattersand the latest news.

We all called the mission for the resto-ration a very successful one as eachof us got a kind of happiness or asought of blissfulness which even nowis held in our hearts. For this, we wouldlike to thank the Project Management,Taktshang and M/S Etho Metho andand M/S Yangphel Tours and Treksfor kindly providing us the transporta-tion.

Reported by: Tashi Pem for the TeamRRCO: Thimphu

Who is he that knocks the door, afriend or a mad thief?Does he have any purpose to bang,aloud in the hour so quaint?

He is a man alike us serving you andour countrymen.Why to shun and hate him hell, for hebegs for fellow friends?

He comes to you for he has to feedcountry’s progress and the growth.He has to feed his fellow servants andour future children too.

Amidst rain, empty guts he prays togod to let you grow.He begs with you not the gold, but thescrubs that you throw.

It’s for us, so does the fellowmen, notto pull you down to the lane.Please help him to build the nationsince the nation built you then.

Compiled by: S. BhattaraiRRCO: S/Jongkhar

A Tax Man

Letters & Comments

YONGSELPublic Information ServicesRevenue & CustomsDepartment Post Box. 211Thimphu.

You can send information and arti-cle at email addressdrchq@druknet.net.bt. forwarded toPublic Information Services for“YONGSEL publication”.

FUNPAGE

Please send your letters to:

I DESERVE MORE PUNISHMENT

A custom official was known to bevery corrupt and many people havegiven written complaint againsthim. He was warned by his supe-riors and subsequently posted toa small desolate place near a sea-shore by way of punishment forone year. He earned a largeamount of money there by haulingup smugglers unloading contra-band from their country craft at oddhours. But there was no complaintagainst the official during this pe-riod.

After completion of one year, hewas asked to pick his choice for anew posting. He replied “SIR, ONEYEAR PUNISHMENT IS NOTENOUGH, ACTUALLY IDERSERVE MORE.”

Compiled by: Jigme Thinley Sr.Tax Officer

RRCO:Thimphu

STEPS TO BEING THE BEST

‘Determine the world standard …Find the world champion in everyprocess you measure.’

Distinguish what needs to be donefrom how hard it is to it… if some-thing needs to be done- the difficultyof doing it is irrelevant.’

‘Set stretch targets…. There’s noth-ing wrong with asking your peopleto perform as well as the best in theworld. Don’t tell them how to do it,though. Their ideas will be betterthan yours’.

‘Never stop… when you get aheadof the pack, you’ll want to relax.That’s just when they’re getting en-ergized by benchmarking againstyou.’

‘Communicate with your employeesas if your life depended on it. Get

your people focussed on externalreality- customers and competitors.Define a clear vision that creates asense of urgency. Help them un-derstand the impact of their ownbehavior.’ Source: Fortune Magazine

Year 2000 Publications of DRC

Tax Information Pamphlets(Dzongkha and English version):1. Corporate Income Tax (CIT)and

Business Income Tax (BIT)2. Tax Deducted at Source

Legal Document (Dzongkha andEnglish version):1. Sales Tax, Customs & Excise

Act 2000 of the Kingdom ofBhutan.!!

Annual Reports :1. Trade Statistic Report 19992. National Revenue Report: Fis-

cal Year 1999-2000

Increasing taxes annually is also notfair as such kind of business is notvery stable and sickness or demiseof a close family member can directlyeffect the progress of the business.

Tax collection is a very simple job Isuppose most might have thoughtas such job hardly requires any bril-liance but I tell you one surely hasto have a kind of talent to make some-one part with the money that he/she

EXPERIENCE AS A TAX COLLECTOR

dearly held with a smile. The talentto make a taxpayer happy is a diffi-cult one!

My view is that the taxpayer(s)should give up with the idea thattax officers are so called“Bangchen’s” of course we shouldnot behave like one.

By: Tashi PemAssistant DirectorRRCO,Thimphu

The Regional Revenue and CustomsOffice of Samtse now has a new officebuilding.The Hon’ble Dasho Dzongda of SamtseDzongkhag graced the formal inaugu-ration and opening of the new officeon February 27, 2001.

The officials and the staff of the regionshifted to the new building on the same

day. The monks of Samtse Dratshang

led by Venerable Lam Neten performed

the Lhabsang, Thruesel and Drup for

two continuous days. About 60 guests

comprising of various government or-

ganisations, sector heads and execu-

tives of the private organizations were

invited for the formal opening ceremony

and had lunch together.The total cost for the three-storiedbuilding amounted to Nu.45 lacs includ-ing site development, boundary walls,main gate and the parking area. Theconstruction was completed in oneyear. Now the office staff boast of goodworking atmosphere and providingbetter and quick service to the taxpay-ers.

January 26, 2001 was a memorable dayfor RRCO Samdrup-Jongkhar when theRegional Director informed the staffthat our Honourable Finance Minister,Chairman of Lhengyel Lhentshog haskindly consented to visit this Office,despite his hectic schedule. Our joyknew no bounds. Every member of stafftook it as a moment of pride and privi-lege. The time was indeed momentousfor all of us.○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○

NEW REGIONAL OFFICE BUILDING AT SAMTSE

CHAIRMAN OF CCM VISITS RRCO, SAMDRUP JONGKHA

Although the meeting was brief we hadan opportunity to highlight all our dif-ficulties to His Excellency. His Excel-lency in-turn acknowledged our diffi-culties and further addressed the criti-cal situation that our country is facingwith the presence of Indian Militantson our soil. In his address, His Excel-lency urged that, these are the timesthat country needs us and our duty is

to oblige its needs. His Excellency alsopointed out that, we are among the veryfew countries in the world that enjoyedthe most coveted peace andtranquility.

His Excellency, however, in his briefaddress complimented the service ren-dered and efforts put in by the staff ofDepartment of Revenue & Customs,especially those field officials whohave contributed so much regardlessof any inimical situation.

RRCO also felt honoured when HisExcellency graciously conceded forphoto-session with the Staff of Re-gional Office.

We the RRCO family would like to be-stow our heartfelt thanks to ourHonorable Lyonpo for his invaluableadvice, care and support.

Reported by: Staff of RRCOSamdrup Jongkha

H.E.Finance Minister with the staff of Samdrup Jongkha Regional Office

The inaugural of the new office building at Samtse Regional Office

MoF - MM AY/JUNE 2001 ISSUE 11 · 2018. 6. 18. · may/june 2001 issue 11 public information...

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