Organisation Chart of Inland Revenue Department as at 31.3.2010
Establishment
The Commissioner, the two Deputy Commissioners and five Assistant Commissioners form the top management of Inland Revenue Department.
As at 31 March 2010, 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, 1,817 posts were in departmental grades (namely Assessor, Taxation Officer and Tax Inspector grades), performing duties directly concerned with taxation. The remaining 1,001 posts were in common / general grades, providing administrative, information technology and clerical support services (Figure 36).Most of the professional officers serving in the Department were below the age of 45
(Figure 37), The ratio of male to female professional officers was 1:1.5.Figure 36 Staff establishment
Figure 37 Age profile of professionals (on strength basis)
| Age Group | Male | Female | Total | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Below 25 | 7 | (2%) | 18 | (5%) | 25 | (4%) | |||||
| 25 to below 35 | 34 | (12%) | 90 | (22%) | 124 | (18%) | |||||
| 35 to below 45 | 102 | (37%) | 147 | (36%) | 249 | (36%) | |||||
| 45 to below 55 | 114 | (41%) | 135 | (33%) | 249 | (36%) | |||||
| 55 and over | 21 | (8%) | 17 | (4%) | 38 | (6%) | |||||
| Total | 278 | (100%) | 407 | (100%) | 685 | (100%) | |||||
In 2009-10, a total of 42 departmental grades officers and 6 common / general grades officers were promoted. 3 departmental grades officers were promoted to directorate posts and the remaining 39 to non-directorate posts. 95 officers joined the Department, of which 68 were new appointees and 27 were officers transferred from other departments. A total of 74 officers (including 26 transferred to other departments) left the Department.
Recruitment
HKICPA Career Forum 2009
Inland Revenue Department participated in the Career Forum 2009 organised by the Hong Kong Institute of Certified Public Accountants (HKICPA) on 27 September 2009 at the Cyberport Conference and Exhibition Centre. The Forum provided a good opportunity for the Department to introduce its work and career opportunities to those interested in pursuing their career in the Department. IRD's booth attracted about 500 visitors.
Training and Development
As in the previous years, Inland Revenue Department continues to offer a variety of training courses, including induction courses for all grades of staff upon their joining the Department, a two-part taxation law and practice course for newly appointed assistant assessors, refresher courses for professional officers, briefing sessions on implementation of legislative amendments or launching of new services, oral English, English writing skills, performance management, supervisory management, Putonghua and computer etc. In 2009-10, a total of 9,846 training man-day were undertaken which was equivalent to about 3.5 man-day per staff member.
New Training Courses
In 2009-10, the Department continued to design new training courses for professional officers to enhance their soft skills in performing their duties. A workshop was organised for brushing up our officers' presentation and language skill. A Senior Government Counsel from the Department of Justice was invited to conduct a workshop on advocacy skills to our officers particularly for those working in Appeals Section. External institutes were engaged to deliver workshops on public speaking for directorate officers, senior assessors and assessors to enhance their presentation skills. With the help of the Civil Service Training and Development Institute (CSTDI), we organised a workshop on leadership and Teamwork for our officers to raise their leadership skills, and a workshop on Chinese Official Correspondence.
Mentorship Scheme
To provide new colleagues with support on an informal and personal basis, a Mentorship Scheme for Assistant Assessors was launched last year. In this scheme, experienced officers (the mentors) will guide newly recruited Assistant Assessors (the mentees) to broaden their perception about the Department and help them to integrate into the civil service. During the year, a survey was conducted to obtain feedback from mentors and mentees to further enhance the scheme. On 22 January 2010, the Mentorship Scheme Closing cum Opening Ceremony was held and officiated by the Commissioner of Inland Revenue. The ceremony expressed appreciation to the mentors in 2009 and announced the launching of the second year (2010) mentorship scheme. This year, we have 29 mentors and 27 mentees. To facilitate communications, we launched an IRD's blog for dedicated use by mentors and mentees.
Continuing Professional Education
During the year, 13 seminars were held under the in-house Continuing Professional Education (CPE) Programme. The seminars covered a wide range of subjects including anti-money laundering, recent developments of the Companies Ordinance, Update on Financial Instrument Standards, China Tax Update, Financial Tsunami - lessons and challenges for the Financial Industry and the Accounting Profession, DIPNs 45 & 46, and Source of Profits etc. Speakers for 7 of the seminars were staff members and the other speakers were experts from various fields. A total of 2,366 staff members attended these seminars. The video files of the CPE seminars were uploaded onto the Intranet so that all officers can view these seminars at any time.
Overseas and China Training
Opportunities are always available to our professional officers to participate in overseas training programmes, to broaden their horizon and to acquire the necessary knowledge for new and complex global issues. During 2009-10, 28 professional officers attended overseas courses in the United States of America, Japan, Korea and Malaysia. In addition,
5 professional officers attended a training course organised by the State Administration of Taxation and OECD in China, 9 professional officers attended a national studies course at Peking University, Tsinghua University, Peking University Shenzhen Graduate School and Guangzhou Sun Yat-sen University, 1 professional officer attended the Thematic Study Programme - Economic Development in Guangxi, while another attended the Thematic Study Programme - Strategic Planning on Economic and Financial Development of Shanghai. Furthermore, 1 senior systems manager attended the GovTech 2009 in Singapore.Continuous Learning
Continuous learning is of the utmost importance for our staff to keep abreast of the changing environment and to acquire the necessary knowledge to deal with their daily work. Apart from the conventional classroom training, the Department employs various means to promote the culture of continuous self-learning. These include encouraging staff to take the web courses provided by the CLC Plus of CSTDI, and providing financial support to officers to attend seminars and courses organised by academic and professional institutes. During 2009-10, the CLC Plus of CSTDI allocated 20 licences to our Assistant Assessors to study a one-year English Web course. 157 officers were sponsored by the Department to attend the relevant courses. 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 attaches great importance to staff relations and welfare. Maintaining effective communication with staff at all levels and promoting co-operation and mutual trust between the staff and the management are essential 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 the management and the 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, meeting every 6 months, is chaired by the Deputy Commissioner (Operations) and composed of 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 continued 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 the 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 the management.
The IRD Staff Suggestions Scheme
During 2009-10, 5 out of 6 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.
The Inland Revenue Department Newsletter
Published quarterly, the departmental newsletter is another channel of communication between the staff and the management that 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 amount of interest-free loans and grants will be provided as an additional, quick source of emergency relief to help staff with unexpected financial difficulties.
Commissioner's Commendation Letter Scheme
In 2009-10, 42 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 2010.
In 2009, 2 officers (including 1 Senior Assessor and 1 Senior Taxation Officer) were awarded the SCS's Commendation in recognition of their consistently outstanding services and exemplary performance in their daily work. The presentation ceremony was held in November 2009.The Long and Meritorious Service Travel Awards Scheme
In 2009-10, 37 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 Sports Association plays a very important role in fostering staff relationship and sense of belonging. To enrich the intellectual, social and athletic interests of its members, in 2009-10, the Association organised a wide range of activities, including thematic talks, interest classes, workshops, outings, sports competition and the annual dinner 2009. The activities were well received by colleagues and their family members. |
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| The IRD Volunteer Team under the auspices of the Association is an active participant in numerous charitable and community works, extending care and love to the less privileged in the society. Throughout the year, there were 430 colleagues participated in various kinds of voluntary services, recording a total of 3,098 service hours. Their exemplary services has brought to the Department the award of the "5 Consecutive Years Caring Organisation Logo" by the Hong Kong Council of Social Service. |  |
As regards fund-raising activities, the Association also actively took part in "Medecins Sans Frontieres Day" and "ORBIS Pin Campaign". The results in terms of the amounts raised and the number of donors were both very satisfactory. The generous contributions by our colleagues were highly praised by both charitable organisations.
