FROM CESA'S DESK

GST Bill gets Presidents approval and becomes a LAW, The CGST and IGST bills will be drafted on the basis of the Model GST LAW. The States will draft their respective GST laws with minor variation to incorporate the state based exemptions. The Centre is in the process of setting up of the GST Council, which will decide on the crucial issues of GST i.e. Tax Rates, Cess and Surcharges which are to be subsumed and also to decide on the Goods and Services which is to be exempted from the purview of the new indirect tax regime. Let us be patient and watch the further developments, which would be announced by the GST Council.

In the ensuing meeting of All India Federation of Superintendents of Central Excise on 10^th and 11^th September, 2016 at New Delhi, the impact of forthcoming GST will be deliberated. Further in the meeting to be held on 17^th September, 2016 at Mumbai with all other staff associations of the CBEC, there will be interaction and strategy to safeguard the career progression of the CBEC Staff will be chalked out.

DPC from GROUP B to GROUP A 

The Day, the present Member (P & V) assumed the charge in CBEC, the issue of holding DPC is in back foot. As you are well aware in the Central Excise Day Felicitations Commendation list, the first person to be nominated was Under Secretary A.D.II although he is not from our stream. Every organization honours only their cadre, whereas this is the first time the CBEC under her command nomination and conferred the highest honour to the said official who is from Secretarial Services. In Group B Central Excise Superintendent is in acute stagnation stage as compared to other two counterparts. With a motivated interest in one or the other pretext the holding of DPC is being delayed, whether it is because of a CAT matter or Principal CAT matter. Several orders are issued subject to outcome of the decisions of various Judiciary keeping the interest of the applicants protected. Then why no DPC is being held and no promotion orders are issued.

 Earlier, on the issue of reservation, the conduct of DPCs have been dragged for the last 8 months. Now, a case in CAT, Chennai has been filed by Tamilnadu Unit, for non implementation of proper PBR, defects in quantifying vacancies, excess representation of Customs appraisers primitives in AC Cadre, excess representation of DR - ACs, the same has been admitted and a stay has been granted on the conduct of DPC for the further promotion  to the AC Cadre upto 5th October, 2016 by Hon’ble Tribunal, Chennai. This case has been tagged to another case, filed on the implementation of N.R.Parmar case, on the issue of revision of seniority list.

It is learnt that SC/ST aggrieved officers, after the decision of the Principal Bench of CAT, Delhi had approached the High Court. However, due to a Caveat filed by the department, these officers have filed an SLP before Supreme Court and the Hon’ble Apex Court has admitted their appeal and has tagged it with the appeal which is pending before the Apex court.

In the past, there was a vacuum in the Board, the said Member (P& V) had undergone the agony as their promotion was at stake for a considerable period. The pinch and frustrations that they underwent did not create any realization on them and have failed to realize how the Group B officers in thousands are passing their days when they are eligible for promotions and are stagnating in the same Cadre. Unless the mindset changes and approach towards staff welfare irrespective of their cadre, career progressions are carried out periodically no organization can prosper or no employee will have any faith, trust and reverence to their employers.
Lot of resentment are brewing in the minds of the officers against the Board due to faulty career progression approach and bias and prejudice nature towards this cadre, whether it is career progression or MACP. Testing patience of the cadre is crossing all the limits. The details of the SLP will be posted shortly.