PIM MBA in Taxation: The first and only MBA in Taxation in South Asia

Witnesses – IRD Deputy Commissioner General Champa Weerasinghe and Consultant – Specialised Programs Jayantha Newunhella. Also pictured are PIM Director Dr. Senaka Kelum Gamage and IRD Commissioner General H.M.W.C. Bandara  

Plans are afoot to enrol taxation officers to the fifth batch of the Master of Business Administration degree program in Taxation (MBAT) of the Postgraduate Institute of Management (PIM). A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was entered into between PIM and the Inland Revenue Dept., (IRD) in 2015. 

Upon expiry, a renewal of the said MoU was signed on 22 Sept. at the IRD. The two signatories were PIM Director Dr. Senaka Kelum Gamage and IRD Commissioner General H.M.W.C. Bandara. IRD Deputy Commissioner General Champa Weerasinghe and Consultant – Specialised Programs Jayantha Newunhella signed as witnesses. 

This program has been structured with the objective of enhancing the managerial and taxation administration competencies of taxation officials and uplift the overall administration of the IRD. Since this degree program is inked to the current promotion-scheme of the IRD, the qualification will serve as a means towards the career development of the targeted officers. 

Further, this specialised program, while buttressing the already acquired skills and competencies, will serve as an entry-level qualification to further their academic studies in Taxation. It is, thus, a shot-in-the-arm towards their much-desired career development.

The culmination of the program is the need to complete a project which involves identifying, analysing, as well as developing a study-framework to resolve a tax-related problem, and providing a cost-benefit analysis, including recommendations and a plan of action for implementation. Thus, the program is a fine blend of theory and practice of IRD and allied subjects.