March 30, 2021: CODE PAKISTAN in collaboration with the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), and the National Center for State Courts (NCSC), U.S., organized a 2-day regional training on “Mainstreaming ADR for Equitable Access to Justice in Pakistan” in Karachi. The two-day training was attended by 25 senior-level officers of the Pakistan Customs and the Inland Revenue Services (IRS) from the provinces of Sindh and Balochistan. It was the second of a series of trainings being conducted on ADR for FBR officers throughout the country. The objective of the training was to raise awareness and build the capacity of tax officers from the Sindh and Baluchistan provinces to provide support to citizens in the quick and efficient resolution of tax disputes by using effective methods of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR).
International and local trainers were engaged to conduct the trainings through the use of available literature, international case studies, and personal examples arising from academic and professional experiences. The programme also offered a contextual perspective of the existing ADR legislation in Pakistan with attention to its implementation, development, benefits, reasons for lack of success, and potential way forward in light of the aforementioned.
The panel of trainers included Advocate High Court, Dr. Tariq Masood, Mediator and Supreme Court Justice of the Republic of Slovenia, Ms. Nina Betetto, Mediator and Barrister-at-law, Mr. Bahadur Bokhari, President of the European Centre for Dispute Resolution and Former Minister of Justice of the Republic of Slovenia, Mr. Aleš Zalar, and last but not least, Mediator and Member of the National Assembly of the Republic of Slovenia, Ms. Maša Kociper.
Both the Vice President of NCSC, Mr. Jeff. A. Apperson, and President CODE PAKISTAN, Mr. Dilawar Khan, addressed the participants and thanked them for their participation. They further acknowledged the extensive efforts extended by the Chief (T&D) and the Senior Member (HR & Admin) of FBR in facilitating the implementation of the training. The Director Customs FBR Karachi, Mr. Yaqoob Ali Mako, also offered his appreciation to NCSC and CODE PAKISTAN for utilizing their resources for building the capacity of tax officers in Pakistan and affirmed that the participants of the training would apply their learning to the resolution of tax disputes under the relevant laws. To this effect, he noted that tax officers faced multiple legal and administrative challenges in the implementation of laws related to ADR and added that structural and legal changes were needed in the existing legal regime.
The training concluded with discussions among participants on feasibility options for the implementation of ADR practices in the tax regime of Pakistan. These discussions culminated in the development of a set of recommendations, which were reviewed by the international and local trainers and further refined in light of their feedback.