Ref:
CESA/78/2013
Dated: 11.12.2013
To,
Hon’ble Chief Commissioner ,
Central Excise, Zone-I
& II,
Mumbai
Respected Sir/Madam,
Sub: -
Reorganization of the Commissionerates/Zones in
Mumbai in the
proposed restructuring of department – reg
Ref :- F.No. 8/B/106/HRDM/2013 dt. 28.11.2013.DG HRD New
Delhi.
It is a good news that
the proposal of the Cadre Restructuring of CBEC, has been approved by the
Cabinet on 5.12.2013 and Board is gearing up
to implement the same . Accordingly, for reorganization of the Department
and forming of various Zones/Commissionerates / Directorates etc and for smooth
implementation of cadre restructuring various committees have been formed. In
this regard CESA Mumbai suggests that :.
2. The last Restructuring
took place in 2002, however, till today, no new premises have been taken and the
new Commissionerates created are only functioning on as is where is basis . In
2005, Service Tax-I and in 2009, Service Tax-II, came into existence but the
fate is one and the same. There is no inconvenience to the Senior Officers but
the conditions of the junior officers are going from bad to worse. Many Senior Officers like Chairman / Members
/ DG /CC / Commissioners have come and gone and even those who are continuing
gave assurances, expressed their displeasure about the working conditions in
dilapidated rental buildings, however, nothing has changed in Mumbai. There is
space crunch in LTU Mumbai where many large units have joined, however, no new
office premises have been acquired yet.
3. Commissionerates have been formed /merged in the recent past. Now
again there will be a Commissionerate formation. Likewise, the staff sanctioned and diverted
to other formations, as a stop gap arrangement reflects the improper planning
and there is no long term vision so far
as Mumbai is concerned in respect of infrastructure and allocation of the
staff.
4. As on date the Service
Tax is under the Administrative Control of Zone–I,Mumbai. The staff is diverted from four Central
Excise Commissionerates to the tune of 40%,
by jeopardising the functioning of these Central Excise Commissionerates.
But the Administration is unable to take a decision to reduce &
divert the staff from Zone – II as well as M & P to provide more staff to
Service Tax. Similarly other Zones i.e.
Pune, Nagpur etc. has so far not diverted their staff to LTU.
5. Currently, in various
Commissionerates of Mumbai zone –II viz. Mumbai – II & III, there is no
scope for expansion as the units are closing or shifting from Mumbai, similarly
in Raigad many units have joined LTU, but no revision in strength has been
undertaken to divert the staff to other
formations where work load is more to make optimum use of human resources. Apart from the above, a Service Tax Division
is created in Raigad. Maritime Commissionerate is also created in Mumbai-III
& Raigad Commissionerate, but no additional staff has been sanctioned and
the creation is still surviving on adhoc arrangements.
6. In the last Restructuring,
reorganisation of the Commissionerate and allocation of staff was carried out
haphazardly which has caused the inconvenience to the junior staff who spent
4-5 hrs daily in the crowded trains exhausting all their energy in commuting to
reach their respective work places. As
well as while forming the Zones, no convenience of the staff as well as the
Trade was taken into consideration so far as the transportation facilities are
concerned. Senior Officers are provided
with vehicle having minimum utility but the junior officers who has been posted
in the range / division / audit / preventive are forced to spend almost 20 % of
their salary amount to undertake official duties, which are never reimbursed.
If we consider the difficulties of Trade, as well as staff, the craving of Central
Excise,Service Tax Commissionerate and Divisions are totally improper. Keeping
all Service Tax work in one zone also shows improper management & ill planning in the department, apart from the
unequal distribution of work load on Administrative Heads of Department as well
as the supporting staff.
7. As far as the
facilities are concerned, always the junior officers are neglected. While establishing offices of Head quarters
the convenience of the quarters where Senior Officers reside is primarily taken
into consideration so that their time of commutation is minimum and less
strenuous. But no sympathetic thought is
given as to how junior officers who have already crossed 50 will attend duty
and return back to their home safely.
8. In the present
reorganisation in the Mumbai Zone it is proposed to have 8 Central
Excise Commissionerates, 7 Service Tax Commissionerates, 5 Audit
Commissionerates, one Preventive Commissionerate + LTU and M&P. As far as the Accommodation is concerned
the Mumbai – III Commissionerate’s Divisions situated at Wagle Estate are in
dilapidated condition and structural defects are pointed out needs either
demolition or major repairs to bring the building back to living
conditions. Similarly, the condition of
5 divisions of Mumbai–II Commissionerate (rental), which is just like a
cellular jail, needs either change of premises or major renovations. In Zone – I the condition is much worse. The Navprabhat Chambers where Thane – I and
Thane – II Head quarters are functioning is in cramped condition and in Dharavi
Divisions of Mumbai – I / HQ audit / Preventive are working is in merciful conditions, somehow so far
escaping from the casualties. Similarly,
other offices of all the divisions and HQ of Service Tax Commissionerates are
working under the mercy of the Central Excise, are unable to get premises for
themselves or sufficient number of divisions or staff to cater the heavy work. Except Revenue, rest everything like
staff/infrastructure is immaterial as far as the Service Tax Mumbai is
concerned. Even no sensitivity as far
as the stress is concerned, in spite of the casualty of the officers.
9. While creating new Service Tax Commissionerates,
apart from revenue & number of assessee criteria, continuity of the
jurisdiction may be taken into account. Similarly while keeping intact or
reshaping of 8 Central Excise Commissionerates their revenue jurisdiction i.e.
Thane / Raigad may not be mixed / clubbed which will be inconvenient to the
staff staying in Central Line and Harbour Line which are opposite to each
other. As like the popular saying goes
it should not be like Delhi to Daulatabad or vice-versa.
Keeping all the above in
mind and the way it was done arbitrarily by the Administration during the last
restructuring, is still afresh in our mind.
But this time Board has already formed various committees for smooth
implementation of the CR hence the shortcomings which occurred in the past may
not be repeated again. We therefore
request that the exercise of reorganization be done in consultation with
recognized Staff Associations as ultimately it is staff who are in the
forefront and face the hardship and the
casualty is efficiency.
With regards,
Yours sincerely
A.K. Sasmal
General Secretary
Copy to:
1.
Ms. Shobha Chari Hon’ble
Member (P&V), New Delhi, in-charge of Mumbai Zones, for kind information
and necessary action.
2.
Ms. Neerja Shah, DG, HRD,
New Delhi, for kind information and necessary action.
3.
Chief Commissioner LTU,
Customs Mumbai Zone – III.
4.
Commissioners of Central
Excise & Service Tax, LTU, M. & P. in Mumbai, with request to abolish
the trend of adhocism and project proper staff requirement with norms to handle
the work load.
5.
Commissioner (Appeals), with
request to abolish the trend of adhocism and project proper staff requirement
with norms to handle the work load.
6.
SDR, CESTAT with request
to abolish the trend of adhocism and project proper staff requirement with
norms to handle the work load.
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