Sunday, September 27, 2015

PREACHING.... BUT NOT PRACTISING...


 
 

The Board preaches something but does not practice the same.


The advertisement, as shown above, was published in many leading newspapers, and warns regarding non-payment of Service Tax which may result in the damage of one’s hard built reputation.
The Board is more worried about the reputation of its assessees than it is about its own reputation..., especially when it comes to taking decisions about promoting/appointing Members to the Board (it had dwindled to 2 Members over a 9 month period ending Mar-2015) and even then did not have the spine to appoint the senior most officer, Shri Najib Shah, (also the most deserving officer) as Chairman but could only manage to issue his order as Acting Chairman !!
 
What is the fault of Shri Najib Shah in all these manouverings ? That he is upright, dynamic & dashing ? There is no dispute about this. Yes, he is NOT a sycophant, dishonest officer and does not bend before his masters on matters of principle. Then why has he been sidelined in the Department and on whose arm-twisting has such a decision been taken of appointing him as an Acting Chairman of CBEC, for which there is no precedent ?
The message that percolates down to the executive cadre is that there is no place in the system for an upright & principled officer, which is very de-moralising and places a great amount of stress on the lower officers of the Department.
Especially, in view of the fact that GST is to be rolled out by Apr-2016, where a capable person of the calibre of Shri Najib Shah can play a very decisive role. Sidelining him will definitely be a big operational loss to the organisation.
The Board may increase the revenue, but not the morale and the efficiency of the hardworking officers in the Department.
The only question that needs to be asked is whether there is anybody better than and/or more capable than Shri Najib Shah to head CBEC, not as Acting Chairman, but as Chairman, with full authority and freedom.
If the answer to the above question is yes, please appoint that person, who is better than Shri Najib Shah, as Chairman, else, if the answer to the question is no, then for God’s sake, appoint him Chairman, with full authority and freedom.
Don’t continue with this farce of Acting Chairman !!!
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Monday, September 21, 2015

LATEST UPDATES ON MACP, DPC & RR


A)    MACP : Receiving maximum enquiries about the development in the matter of MACP for Grade Pay of Rs.6600/-. The latest position is that the Board has recommended positively the benefit of MACP and anomalies, as observed by various decisions of CAT/Court, be accepted and extended to all the eligible officers of the Department, and not only the applicant as petitioner who had filed the case in CAT/Court.

However the recommendations made by the Board is pending with the DoPT for acceptance.
 

B)    Holding of DPC for promotion from Grp-B to Grp-A : A joint meeting of Secretary(Revenue), Secretary(Law Ministry) and Addl. Solicitor General is scheduled today, the 21-Sept-2015, to discuss the issue with regard to the recommendation of the Parliamentary Committee on reservation in promotion from Grp-B to Grp-A. Legal position and rulings of the Apex Court is causing hurdles in taking an unanimous decision. Hence the joint meeting is scheduled.

So, the long awaited DPC for promotions from Grp-B to Grp-A for 2013 (few remaining posts), 2014 and 2015 is likely to be delayed further.
 

C)    RR : Promotee IRS officers Association’s office bearers are stationed at New Delhi to meet Member(P&V), Chairman, JS(Admn) and Revenue Secretary to impress upon them to get the new RRs as suggested by them and not as proposed by the Board, to be adopted for the larger interest of the Central Excise Grp-B stagnated cadre. 

CESA, Mumbai, wished them all the best in their mission.

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Monday, September 14, 2015

DARE TO DISPLAY


In 2002, the police in Gorakhpur, UP, brought out an unusual calendar, featuring the photographs of hard core criminals. These calendars were displayed in police stations throughout the district and distributed free to vendors, traders and passers-by.


A huge amount of taxes are locked in dispute and these figures are going to increase over the years as the consultants / Chartered Accountants are able to convince the assessees that it is wiser, convenient &  cheaper to litigate than to pay the tax.


CBEC should also come out with similar type of calendars featuring all the high value defaulters of both Central Excise and Service Tax. The photo & name of the authorized persons of the defaulting firms should be included in the calendar. Ideally, the names of their ‘learned’ consultants / Chartered Accountants should also be disclosed, as they are the guiding lights behind many of the decisions to litigate. Definitely it will have an impact on the defaulters list and the Commissioner(TAR) will be able to liquidate some of the tax dues.


Even though Service tax has reached its youth, still awareness and knowledge of the taxation is still in its infancy, and in the guise of facilitation, the consultants /Chartered Accountants have created a barrier between the Department and the assessees. 

Until the Board does not make efforts remove this barrier, the gap between the Department & the assessees is going to be exploited.


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Thursday, September 10, 2015

WELCOME TO PC-CUM-CC


                                                                                                                Ref: CESA/74/2015
                                                                                                                         Date:09 -09-2015
Shri S. K. Varshney
Principal Commissioner,
Central Excise
Mumbai – I Commissionerate,
Mumbai.

Respected Sir,

          We sincerely congratulate your good-self on assuming the charge of Principal Commissioner of Mumbai-I Commissionerate having additional charge of the CC, Central Excise, Mumbai Zone-I.  
Mumbai Zone is one of the major Zones in CBEC, contributing major part of Revenue to the Exchequer and being cadre controlling, many staff issues are also there. Being a major Zone, the issues relating to infrastructure, staff welfare and service related issues like promotions, MACP, etc., are pending since long and needs your personal intervention. Though the earlier Chief Commissioner, now Member (ST), had pursued the issues, yet it is still not finalized. The officers of this Zone are having lot of faith and expectations from you.
          Presently the priority is on infrastructure, accommodation – both office & residential. Another area needs your attention is to fill the vacant posts at various levels so that work can be done smoothly and the staff waiting for promotions should get it timely. In recent past the performance of Audit is appreciated by the Chief Commissioners and lot of recovery made. But there are many issues in the newly formed Audit Commissionerates also and for augmentation of revenue these requires immediate solutions. We wish to draw your kind attention that in Mumbai Zone in Central Excise Audit is having different patterns of deployment of staff and forming of groups/Circles. We request and emphasise the need of uniformity in such matters and Board has already given the direction in its Circular issued in November 2014, the same may be implemented in Zone – I also and groups be formed on jurisdiction basis instead of Tariff based.
In Mumbai the day to day office working and upkeep largely depends on the contingent staff and there are several poor contingent workers who have even put in 20-25 years of service since 1994 onwards, who are assured by every Commissioner that their issue will be looked into but the state of affairs is that despite Board’s and Ministry’s direction, their pay is not revised and paid on timely basis in some of the formations. Board has also been seized of the plight of these poor people and has asked for details of such workers vide letter No. C.18013/37/2009 – Ad. III-B dated 28.07.2015. It is requested that Administration under your control should ensure that details of all such workers be sent to the Board and let Board decide the matter so that all the eligible and deserving poor people should get their due deserve. The then Chief Commissioner who was very considerate and kind enough towards these poor people and assured if any such issue will come he will put forward their case favourably. CESA request that being Head of the zone to take care of these poor people and do the needful in the matter on humanitarian grounds.
We hope that your kind attention on these issues will be dealt with priority it deserves. In fact the zone is giving maximum revenue and needs special attention not only by your good office but also from the Board and the role of an effective and active Chief Commissioner is very much desired in this zone.
We once again congratulate your good-self and assure our fullest co-operation and wish your tenure will be very positive towards the staff welfare and the trade.
          Thanking you,
                                                                                            Yours sincerely


                                                                              A.K. SASMAL
                                                                      General Secretary









                                                                                                            Ref. No.: CESA/75/2015
Dated    : 09.09.2015
Shri Piyush Patnaik
Principal Commissioner
Mumbai Service Tax – III.

Respected Sir,

          We sincerely congratulate your good-self on assuming the charge of the Principal Commissioner of Mumbai Service Tax-III Commissionerate and additional charge as Chief Commissioner of Mumbai Service Tax Zone.  
Mumbai Zone is one of the major Zones in CBEC contributing major part of Revenue to the Exchequer and is home to a large number of assessees in service tax, but very much lagging behind in infrastructure and working conditions, which not only affects the officers working in the formations but also jeopardizing the revenue and service to the public/trade. It may not be out of place to say that even for the basic needs of day to day office work, officers are struggling to obtain it.  Though the then Chief Commissioner, now Member (ST), had pursued the issues, but they are not yet completed and needs proper attention and monitoring to expedite it.
After reorganization and creation of new Commissionerate as well as the Chief Commissioner’s office and Audit Commissionerates even after a year are not even having proper space to sit and work. The office accommodation, infrastructure, computers and ACES are the main areas where your kind intervention and monitoring is required.
In Mumbai the day to day office working and upkeep largely depends on the contingent staff and there are several poor contingent workers who have even put in 20-25 years of service since 1994 onwards, who are assured by every Commissioner that their issue will be looked into but the state of affairs is that despite Board’s and Ministry’s direction, their pay is not revised and paid on timely basis in some of the formations. Board has also been seized of the plight of these poor people and has asked for details of such workers vide letter No. C.18013/37/2009 – Ad. III-B dated 28.07.2015. It is requested that Administration under your control should ensure that details of all such workers be sent to the Board and let Board decide the matter so that all the eligible and deserving poor people should get their due deserve. The then Chief Commissioner who was very considerate and kind enough towards these poor people and assured if any such issue will come he will put forward their case favourably. CESA request that being Head of the zone to take care of these poor people and do the needful in the matter on humanitarian grounds.
We hope that under your kind control these issues will get proper attention and priority. It may also be requested that all the seven ST Commissionerates will function independently. As there was no regular Commissioners in the ST Commissionerates and many were holding additional charges, the junior officers had to bear the brunt, both in terms of physically and financially. In the process, the increasing stress levels, there were several casualties in the past, and hence, the present ad-hocism should be dispensed with. Priority should be given to all the three Audit Commissionerates, especially with respect to staff, infrastructure, computers and ACES connectivity.
We once again congratulate your good-self and assure our fullest co-operation and wish your tenure will be very positive towards the staff welfare and the trade.
          Thanking you,
                                                                                               Yours sincerely


     A.K. SASMAL

     General Secretary

Wednesday, September 9, 2015

NEW RECRUITMENT RULES ... NEED OF THE HOUR TO ACT.. NOT TO WAIT FURTHER

     Long awaited the proposal of cadre restructuring was implemented in Oct-2014 and promotion orders from Grp-B to Grp-A (Temporary posts) was issued on the 30-Oct-2014. At the given time, those who were promoted were extremely happy and those who missed the bus and retired, cursed their luck and the administration. 

After promotions, when posting orders were issued, the true colour of the Board was clearly visible with respect to the discriminations shown to the promotee officers vis-à-vis direct recruit officers. The matter does not end here. Again Board vide their Office Order dated 17-June-2015 instructed to shift the promotee officers on the basis of Para 4.2 of the Grp-A Transfer/Posting Policy, so that newly posted direct recruit officers can be accommodated in the field formations. These instructions were followed selectively in Central Excise & completely ignored in the Directorates, Customs Commissionerates & Service Tax Commissionerates. 

Again, on 04-Sep-2015, officers were shuffled around and discriminations was shown to the promotee officers, as they were transferred out of their zone/station. A separate write-up will be given showing these details.

With the new & full-fledged Board, the All India Office bearers had a meeting on 23-July-2015 and minutes of the same were issued. In a nutshell, they heard the points raised and assured that they will look into the matter within the framework of the rules. Tactically, those who have represented are extremely happy, but the bottom line is that not a single issue has been resolved till to date. In the said minutes, the matter of RR was discussed. 

Various committees as well as Board has come to realize that the stagnation in the Grp-B cadre is acute but are (deliberately ??) not showing any willingness to resolve this matter, especially in respect of change of ratio or removal of the disparity within the feeder cadre from Grp-B to Grp-A. When new posts came into existence, RR is to be changed, but viewing our strength on the basis of number of officers and their career progression, no positive recommendations are being made by the Board to DoPT for approval. If this simple change can be incorporated and pursued vigourously then all the grief that has been caused can be undone, both for now and for the future.


In the draft the Board has forwarded to DOPT, if these, ‘2’ important suggestions for GrP-A RRs are incorporated, i.e. :–

(i)            To insert a provision, for promotion to the post of JTS, total length of service in Gr-B Executive to be considered.

(ii)          To insert concept of “weightage” on entry in Gr-A, the length of service in Gr-B feeder cadre to be considered.


The FIRST suggestion is derived from the Affidavit submitted by CBEC in Principal CAT O.A. No.2793/2009. 

The SECOND suggestion is derived from the IAS Seniority Rules 1987 & the IPS Seniority Rules 1988.

It is pertinent and important to mention that the IAS Seniority Rules with concept of ‘weightage’ were brought due to reasons of different wait periods [from 9 to 21 years in different State Services] for entry into IAS Grade.

Therefore, within CBEC it should not be a problem at all, to propose concept of “weightage”. This shall give real-term relief to the super-stagnated Grp-B officers from Central Excise / Cus(P) streams.

The ill-effects of WRONG RRs can be seen in the Civil List(1.1.2015). In the Grade of Joint & Additional Commissioner, the total number of promotee-Group A officers is ‘160’. Out of these, from Central Excise stream are ‘11’, from Customs Preventive is ‘1’ and from Customs Appraiser are ‘148’. Thus, the 3-5% feeder cadre of Appraisers are occupying ‘92%’ posts at these grades. THIS IS DUE TO MANY GIMMICKS played in the past.

Hence, it is the duty of the All India office bearers to impress upon the Board and amend the RRs and not to be taken in by the verbal assurances of the Board, especially the wait-and-watch tactic should not be adopted. If we succeed in our representations this will certainly bring in just, fair & equitable level of promotions (to Grp-A) within the three feeder categories to a great extent.


***********

Tuesday, September 8, 2015

NOW CBDT HAS INFORMERS.... WHEN WILL CBEC HAVE ?

CBDT has issued guidelines to reward persons giving information about untraceable assessees who owe huge taxes and money to the Income Tax Department.


As per the new guidelines, any person who provides credible information against a declared IT defaulter would be rewarded 10% of the tax realised from such an entity.  The maximum amount which could be given to an informer has been capped at Rs.15 Lakhs. However a provision has also been kept to enhance this reward in exceptional cases after the approval of CBDT from the competent authority.


The new guidelines have been issued by CBDT keeping in mind the huge challenge of tackling black money in the country and at the same time boosting revenue for the government.


Income tax is a tax collected by the CBDT on the income of an individual and also on corporate income. CBDT is vigilant and has taken this step to tackle black money as well as to enhance the collection of income tax.


CBEC officials always compare with the CBDT about the facilities availed by the counter parts and claim for parity. However, no action or demand has been put forward to tackle the same menace in the area of Service Tax. The income tax is an individual tax whereas Service Tax is a tax that has been collected by the service provider but has not deposited the same with the Govt. A huge amount of Service Tax is being collected by various service tax providers through dubious methods, which is siphoned off without being deposited in the govt. treasury and that too for years together.


Almost two years back, the govt. had introduced the VCES scheme for granting amnesty to service tax dodgers. But this is not the manner in which tax-collected-but-not-deposited-in-govt-account is to be dealt with.


CESA, Mumbai, is constantly demanding to make the Service Tax Rules and procedures simpler like the State VAT and to reduce the influence of third parties like CHA’s in Customs, and presently the Chartered Accountants (CAs) in Service Tax, in the name of facilitation, so that the nexus at the highest level can be curtailed/broken.  This will also result in the increase in the number of tax payers in the ST department, as even an ordinary person can do his business and pay his tax without having to resort to taking the help of a CA/Consultant.


CBEC should also issue guidelines along the lines of CBDT for encouraging informers to provide information on ST defaulters. Definitely, this will positively impact the collection of ST revenue and reduce the quantum of evasion. Hope that the FM will take initiative, encourage the informers to come forward and maintain uniformity in the both the arms of revenue collection.

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Wednesday, September 2, 2015

NO QUOTA IN PROMOTION (for disabled)-- SC



Differently-abled persons can claim benefit of reservation in government jobs only at the time of appointment and cannot get the benefit of the affirmative policy in promotion, the Supreme Court said on Tuesday while clarifying its earlier verdict

A bench of Justices Ranjan Gogoi and N V Ramana said the apex court's 2013 verdict did not hold that the reservation policy could also be extended to promotion in jobs and stressed that the disabled could claim benefits only at the time of recruitment. The SC had in 2013 directed the Center and all state governments to provide 3% job reservation to disabled persons in all their departments, companies and institutions under Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act which came into force in 1995.

The Centre submitted that the court had not, while passing order for 3% reservation, dealt with the issue of reservation in promotion and the disabled could not be allowed to claim the benefits. Although the Court had directed that all vacancies under 3% reservation be filled up within three months, the governments failed to comply with the order in the last two years and there are still 10,000 vacant posts in central government under 3% disabled quota.

Solicitor General Ranjit Kumar assured the court that all vacancies would be filled up by the end of this financial year. He said the government had so far recruited 5269 disabled persons. “Steps are under way for filing up over 6000 posts by the end of this year and 3000 posts would be filled up by the end of February,“ he said.

The bench then directed the government to take all necessary steps for recruitment for disabled persons and asked it to honour the deadline set for complying with the 2013 order.