Known for his integrity among IRS fraternity with unsullied career spanning across 33 years; PK Vijayakumar – an officer of the 1978 batch of Indian Revenue Service (IRS), held an array of position in Income Tax Department in Kerala, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and Mumbai. He has worked with utmost sincerity as Commissioner of Income Tax in three Metropolitan cities of India: Chennai, Kolkata and Mumbai.
In his bold outburst he spoke to ME reporter on wide spectrum of issues, ranging from personal integrity, political interventions to his role as an academician:
Q1: Bureaucracy no longer remains a steel framework as once it used to be… your take?
Earlier, bureaucrats enjoyed much flexibility in taking major decisions as they were subjected to report to a single authority. That had contributed to the fast execution of the government policies. Post eighties – political interventions registered steep rise resulting in the demoralization of the entire bureaucratic cadres.
Q2: You held key positions in the government, right from assistant commissioner income tax to Director General Income Tax…how did you manage to duck political intervention while taking certain crucial decisions?
I worked with great sincerity and dedication. You can check out with my colleagues and underlings about my credentials. Bureaucrats need to be resilient to survive the rough and tumble of administrative world.
Q3: You remained associated with the investigation wing of the income tax, how did you manage the pulls and pressure that comes along with it?
I remained resilient throughout my career and never budged under any political pressure.
Q4: IRS fraternity considers you as a man of integrity…
I simply performed my duty which I had been entrusted to as an IRS officer. If my colleagues call me a man of integrity I respect their emotions, but frankly speaking, I did nothing extraordinary. As a central government fiscal officer, I did what I was required to do.
Q5: What does it mean to be an income tax commissioner in a city like Mumbai…?
Being Commissioner of Income Tax in a city like Mumbai that boasts of major corporate houses, cash-rich film industry, certain unlawful money transactions through hawala managed by underworlds and money laundering involving Offshore Financial Centres (OFCs), means to confront problems of challenging proportion. On several occasions I worked under tremendous political pressure, but I never gave in to their whims and fancies. I not only survived as Income Tax Commissioner from 2008 to 2011; but also efficiently managed the highest tax paying concerns of India like State Bank of India, Tata group of companies, L&T, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Mahindra, Raymonds etc.
Q6: From an administrator to academician – this reflects the versatility of your persona …
Till a couple of years ago I was part of the sturdiest ‘steel framework’, as the British used to call, of Indian society – bureaucracy. Now, post retirement I teach as a guest faculty in the Department of Business Administration in the John Mathai centre of Calicut University at Trichur in Kerala.
If an administrator teaches, he brings with him the fresh ideas that enrich students. My long stint as fiscal administrator had exposed me to the difficulties I faced in translating theory into practice. This they (students) seldom get in any book, only an experienced person can throw light on such topics.
