Human Resources

Organisation Chart of Inland Revenue Department as at 31.3.2008

Establishment The Commissioner, the two Deputy Commissioners and the five Assistant Commissioners form the top management of the Department. As at 31 March 2008, the Department had an establishment of 2,818 permanent posts (including 25 posts for directorate officers) in the Commissioner's Office and 6 Units. Of the total, 1,793 posts were in departmental grades (namely Assessor, Taxation Officer and Tax Inspector grades), the duties of which are directly concerned with taxation. The remaining 1,025 posts were in common/general grades and provide administrative, information technology and clerical and other support services (Figure 39).

Most of the professional officers serving in the Department were below the age of 45 (Figure 40). The ratio of male to female professional officers was 1 : 1.4.

Staff Promotions and Turnover
In 2007-08, a total of 39 departmental grades officers (including 8 officers promoted to directorate posts and 31 to non-directorate posts) and 6 common/general grades officers were promoted. 125 officers joined the Department, 73 were new appointees and 52 were officers transferred from other departments. A total of 112 officers (including 55 transferred to other departments) left the Department.

Training and Development
To encourage life-long learning among our staff, the Department continues to offer a variety of training courses covering a wide range of subjects, including professional taxation and accounting knowledge, interpersonal skills, performance management, languages, etc. In 2007-08, a total of 7,705 man-days were undertaken by staff which is equivalent to about 2.7 man-days per staff. Highlights of the training programmes are:

Continuing Professional Education
In 2007-08, 13 seminars were held under the in-house Continuing Professional Education (CPE) Programme. The seminars covered a wide range of subjects including introduction of derivative products, judicial review and tax administration, complaint management, International SME Financial Reporting Standards, performance management and eTAX services, etc. Speakers for 7 of the seminars were staff members and the other speakers were experts from various fields. A total of 1,796 staff attended these seminars. The video files of the CPE seminars were uploaded onto the Intranet so that all officers can view these seminars at their convenient time.

Overseas and China Training
The Department continues to put emphasis on the international dimension of our tax administration to enable our professional officers to have necessary knowledge to deal with the increasing number of new global issues.

During 2007-08, 22 professional officers attended overseas courses in the United States of America, Thailand, Korea, Singapore and Malaysia. In addition, 5 professional officers attended a national studies course at Tsinghua University and Peking University Shenzhen Graduate School, 1 professional officer attended the Thematic Study Programme in Tianjin on the industrial and port development of Tianjin, 2 analyst programmers attended a course in Shenzhen and 1 senior system manager attended the CeBIT Asia 2007 in Shanghai.

Other Training
The Department also encourages and sponsors officers to attend seminars and courses organised by academic and professional institutes. During 2007-08, 118 officers were sponsored by the Department to attend such seminars. Officers also attended various courses on English language, Chinese writing skills, human resources development, national studies, etc. organised by the Civil Service Training and Development Institute (CSTDI).

In addition to classroom training, the Department also encourages staff to take the web courses provided by CLC Plus of CSTDI, to promote the culture of continuous self-learning among our colleagues. Training materials and information were uploaded onto our Intranet for officers to study at their own time and pace. This provides an effective way for the staff to acquire new knowledge and review what they have learnt.

Staff Relations and Welfare
The Department values staff relations and welfare. Maintaining effective communication with staff at all levels and promoting co-operation and mutual trust between the staff and management are of utmost importance in enhancing the Department's operational efficiency and productivity.

The Departmental Consultative Committee (DCC)
The Departmental Consultative Committee provides a formal and effective forum for management and staff to exchange views on topics of mutual concern such as recruitment, promotion, career posting, training, working environment, staff welfare, office security and safety. The Committee is chaired by the Deputy Commissioner (Operations) and comprises representatives from all staff unions/associations and staff groups in the Department.

The General Grades Consultative Committee (GGCC)
Staff members of the secretarial and clerical grades continue to make good use of the GGCC, which was first set up in 1999, to discuss with the management issues of specific interest to their grades.

The "Meet-the-Staff Programme"
First launched in 1996-97, the programme enables the senior management of each Unit and staff of different groups to meet regularly for exchanging views on departmental and service wide issues in an open and relaxed manner. It serves to supplement the formal consultative channel and effectively enhances communication between the staff and management.

The IRD Staff Suggestions Scheme During 2007-08, 3 out of 10 suggestions received were granted different levels of cash awards and certificates of commendation in recognition of their contributions to enhancing operational efficiency and quality of services. Back to Top The Inland Revenue Department Newsletter Published quarterly, the departmental newsletter is another channel of communication between the staff and management and serves to promote a sense of belonging in the Department. Service related issues, staff welfare, occupational and safety matters are disseminated through articles and contributions from staff and unit management. The newsletter also provides a regular roundup on the recreational activities organised by the Department's Sports Association as well as volunteer activities organised by the Department's Volunteer Team.

The Inland Revenue General Staff Welfare Fund (IRGSWF)
The Inland Revenue General Staff Welfare Fund was established voluntarily by a group of staff in 1972. It operates on funds donated by staff on a voluntary basis. With the endorsement of the Claims Sub-committee, which is formed to consider applications for financial assistance, small amounts of interest-free loans and grants can be provided as an additional, quick source of emergency relief to help staff with unexpected financial difficulties.

Commissioner's Commendation Letter Scheme
In 2007-08, 63 officers who had provided outstanding service for a reasonably long period of time were awarded the Commissioner's Commendation Letter in recognition of their exemplary performance in the Civil Service. The presentation ceremony was held in March 2008.

SCS's Commendation Award 2007
In 2007, one officer was awarded the SCS's Commendation in recognition of her consistently outstanding service and exemplary performance for 5 consecutive years. The presentation ceremony was held in November 2007.

The Long and Meritorious Service Travel Awards Scheme
In 2007-08, 33 officers with long and meritorious service were granted awards of overseas travel, together with their spouses outside Hong Kong, under the Long and Meritorious Service Travel Award Scheme.

The IRD Sports Association The Association strives to promote the intellectual, social and athletic interests of our colleagues, encourage a healthy lifestyle and heighten members' awareness of protecting and conserving the environment. Through active participation in voluntary work and charitable activities, our colleagues manifest love and care to those in need in serving the community. In 2007-08, the Association organised a wide variety of cultural, recreational, sports and social activities for colleagues and their families, including sports competitions, interest courses, workshops, thematic luncheon talks, outdoor activities and annual dinner. They were well received and helped foster friendship and strengthen cohesiveness and sense of belonging. Throughout the year, the Association joined hands with the IRD Volunteer Team to participate in fund raising activities of four charities. Members were zealous in supporting charitable work. Donations of over $300,000 were received from 3,265 participants in the events. The IRD Volunteer Team continued to promote community services to care the under-privileged through the provision of supporting services to charities for the child, disabled and elderly. The success was entirely attributable to more than 250 colleagues who contributed 1,367 hours of volunteer work during the year. In recognition of the dedication efforts of our colleagues, the Civil Service Bureau presented the "Award for Teams with Widest Target Groups" to the IRD Volunteer Team this year. The Hong Kong Council of Social Service granted the Caring Organisation Logo to the IRD again for 2007-08.