When I entered the room, there was only two people sitting in the room as the third person is too tired and he was just walking outside the FPSC building.
I said "Assalam Waalaikum" and both of them reply with great joy and enthusiasm.
1st Person from FPSC:
Please sit down.
Q- So you did your MBA from China?
A- Yes
Q- Hmm...Interesting. Why did you choose China for the studies? why didn't you choose any Western Country?
A- I was selected in a Cultural Exchange Scholarship and out of 16 countries, only China offered the scholarship so that's why it was China.
Q- And the Medium of Communication was Chinese or English?
A- It was English.
Q- Why city you were living in China?
A- Wuhan, in the central part of China.
Q- Ok. So you are coming from China so how do you see CPEC? Is it a game Changer or a Game over?
A- I think in a time like this where no country is really working with Pakistan, the huge investment from China have really helped us gain some employments and gave us the opportunity to revive our industries but I dont think its a Game changer like everyone is claiming. If you know about the recent case of Srilankan Airport Extension Work and the Hambantota Port, then you can easily know how a Chinese Investment can hurt the country`s sovereignty. Secondly, the 52 vehicle convoy followed the containers on the entire CPEC route in the inauguration ceremony which is quite expensive and it cant be repeated on a daily basis. It is the same thing which PCB did in the match between Pakistan cricket team and the World XI, you cant provide that kind of security for every mach. Furthermore, there are no tuc shops, no rest houses, no mechanics, no hotels on the entire route which means the basic necessity is still missing. Also the cost of the normal products like a small water bottle is almost 300% higher in gawadar.
Q- So do you think that the case is similar in case of Pakistan and Srilanka?
A- I says No. In case of Srilanka, the case was different as the pre-assessment and the feasibility report of the project was made by the Srilankan Government, hence the liabilities lies with the Srilankan Government. But in case of Pakistan, Gawadar was the idea of Chinese Government. All the feasibility studies and the project details was made by the Chinese.
Q- And what about the payments? Is China directly giving the payment to the Government or to China for both Srilanka and Pakistan?
A- In case of Srilanka, the Payment was made to the Srilankan Government but in case of Pakistan, COPHC is getting the payments directly from the Chinese Government.
Q- So is there any benefit of CPEC?
A- Yes, It resolves the situation of unemployment a bit, industries which are mostly related to civil and construction works are seeing their boom. Overall people are hoping for good future and to have hope is also a big thing.
Q- Have it really provided the employment as you are mentioning?
A- Yes sir, I am personally working in a Chinese company for last 2 years.
Q- So what is the proportion of the employees in your company?
A- 60% Chinese 40% Pakistan. But I just want to clarify, that with Chinese they wont allow Pakistani to work on any management position.
Q- Thank you. That's all from my side.
2nd Person from FBR:
Q- So have you read the Income Tax Ordinance?
A- Yes sir, I have read it thoroughly before the exam but its a quite sometime now and I didn't study it in detail this time.
Q- No Problem. Can you tell me about advance tax?
A- Advance tax is the tax paid by the AOP/Company before the due date. I think we can pay it quarterly as I remember, I saw one advertisement on the newspaper about it to pay your taxes by Sept 2017.
Q- So its not for the Individuals?
A- As far as my memory serves, its not for individual.
Q- No. Actually its also for the individual like if someone is the owner of some big company then he can also pay it.
A- That I didn't know sir.
Q- Do you know how to calculate it?
A- No sir.
Q- There are two ways to calculate. First you take the last year salary and then divide it in 4 quarterly instalments. (Sorry I forgot the second way to calculate but he explained it very briefly)
A- Thank you for explaining it.
Q- So can you tell us what is Best Judgement Assessment?
A- Didn't read about it. But as it sounds it must be best judgement any fbr officer can make based on the available data and records. Means he examines all the available data in details and then makes a fair and transparent judgement.
Q- He says yes its correct.
Q- What is Universal Self Assessment?
A- It is an Self-Assessment done by the taxpayer.
2 more question he asked which I don't remember now.
This was my first experience with any govt interview and I must say, the environment and the behaviour from both FPSC and FBR person was excellent and I really like how the FBR person explains me the details of some answers.
Not sure if this is a good interview or a bad one but I really enjoyed it
