CESA's SALUTE TO A LEGEND

CESA's salute to a legend, who had made it his life mission - to light up the minds of yougsters till his last breath....

He will continue to live in the hearts & minds of each Indian, in all the fields.  

A great loss to the Nation... 

 

RULE AND ROLE

 

Rules and Roles play a vital role in any field to achieve the objectives, but when the rules are full of ambiguity and the role played by the officer is of dubious nature, then nothing can be achieved except making the issues more murkier. 

It is an open fact, that the last DPC for promotion from Group ‘B’ to Group ‘A’ was held in October 2014.  Since then no DPC has been held and the posts of 2013, 2014 and 2015 are lying vacant despite the availability of eligible officers in the cadre. It is not like other cadres that the post is lying vacant because of non-availability of the candidates and hence that cadre plays wait and watch situation for further promotion, whereas we are languishing in the same grade.

 

A confusion has been created by citing DOPT OM that the posts that have remained vacant for more than a year shall not be revived except under very rare circumstances after seeking clearance of the Department of Expenditure.

On the one hand, we contend that the posts which are lying vacant for long should be filled up and on the other hand we cite OMs to justify that the posts which are lying vacant for more than one year should not be filled up taking into consideration the austerity measures. It is ironical that the cadre is fighting for sanction of additional posts / creation of new posts in the cadre, but the cadre itself is willing to forgo the sanctioned posts so that others are not benefitted and gain seniority. In our Central Excise cadre we are short of posts but are more in numbers where as the other two feeder cadres are less in number hence the rule which is fair for Central Excise is to be promoted and there should not be any dubious role for any vested interest.

During the cadre restructuring sanctioned in 2013, the Ministry had sanctioned various new posts in the grade of Principal Chief Commissioner, Chief Commissioner, Principal Commissioner, etc., but the same has not been filled up till date. Does it mean that the new posts will not be revived since the same has not been filled up till date.

Hence, it is requested not to make own position vulnerable as well insignificant by citing rule/s and playing an unfair role wherein the cadre suffers.

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NEW CHAIRMAN WITH OLD PROBLEMS

A meeting is expected with the Chairman, CBEC, on 23rd July 2015 with the All India Office bearers. The All India Association should break the deadlock on the following issues :-

a)  The 3rd MACP of Rs. 6600/- GP, which is being extended to officers in Kochi Zone, why is it being denied to the officers of remaining Zones in CBEC ? is the PAO of Kochi following a different set of rules as compared to the other PAOs who are raising objections to the grant of 3rd MACP ?

b)when the DPC will be held for the vacant post,If ADG HRD is out of country,can the board will not inch a further or any other officer who hold the additional charge will not process  the file upto his arrival from abroad after completing mid career training programme till 19th August. 

c) Why there is a discrimination between Direct ACs & Promotee ACs, who are given insignificant postings & lesser facilities (no vehicle......) ? Does the Board consider them as children of a lesser God ?

d)  Why are the Promotee ACs being rotated/transferred under  4.2 of Group A Transfer &Posting Policy and Direct ACs replacing them, when such a condition was not included at the time of promotion  ?

e) Another annual Budget is likely to be presented in another six months but the decision is increase office space and facilities in this financial year has not been majorly taken up for implementation. How long do you want the lower officers to suffer from lack of space & facilities and still expect them to produce results ?

e) Implement a comprehensive Greivance Redressal mechanism for the staff at the Division, Commissionerate, Chief Commissionerate & Board level.

DELAYED MONSOON

Monsoon is delayed (not in anybody's control) but what about the Board, now that it is at full strength, what is the new pretext for not issuing AGT of Commissioners ?

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FM's ATTENTION TO DISCARD TRADITIONAL MODE AND ADOPT AUTOMATION & ACCOUNTABILITY

On Tuesday, 14-July-2015, the Union Finance Minister, Shri Arun Jaitley, clarified the difference between "Service Tax" (imposed by the Govt.) and "Service Charges" (as charged by hotels and restaurants). Some of the consumers have a mis-apprehension that "Service Charges" are being collected by the restaurants on behalf of the Govt. as tax.

As the Hon'ble Minister is concerned about the notion & apprehension on tax :- his attention is invited to the prevailing practice in the Department in the manner of holding MCMs, confirmation of Audit objections, detection of defaulters, issuance of SCNs by the same authority, thereafter, using their quasi-judicial adjudication power, reducing the charges/duty or entirely dropping of the SCNs.  The matter does not end here - there is slackness in following up of cases pending with Commr(Appeals), CESTAT, High Court & Supreme Court. No one even bothers to go and brief the Dept. Counsel, except sending officers at the Supdt./Insp. level for formality sake.

Recovery of recoverable tax arrears is another saga which is increasing day by day. 

Officers come & go but do not dare to recover. Their ACR/APAR do not take these parameters into consideration for judging their performances.  Further, deliberate attempts are being made by the senior officers to scuttle the automation through ACES. For example - issuance of SCN which consumes a large amount of man-hours and effort (incl. expenses for travelling from field office to HQ) on getting the same approved, is not being done on ACES, so as to protect and avoid responsibility of the senior officers.  The stress levels of the Inspector and Supdt. are increasing due to the senior officer's reluctance in using ACES, as the blame ultimately falls on the Inspector/Supdt. for late submission/non-submission.

As the Hon'be FM has shown concern in a small matter and given clarification, it is now the right time to step in and tighten the procedures followed currently. 

Firstly, to make it compulsory for use of ACES while issuing SCNs and adjudication orders. 

Secondly, tracking of recoverable arrears should be through ACES only. Then only the Board can generate independent reports from ACES and effectively monitor these parameters, which will increase the efficiency of the collection of indirect taxes and nothing will remain in dark. These two reforms should form part of the parameters used for judging the performance of the senior officers.  

Also, adoption of the use of ACES will help the Department to move towards the target of using less paper and ensuring a hassle free atmosphere. 

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SILENCE STILL PREVAILS

Manual scrutiny of Service Tax returns from Aug 1: CBEC..... Back to square

Seeking to strengthen compliance and verification, the CBEC has said that beginning August 1 it will start manual scrutiny of Service Tax returns of select assessees who have paid less than Rs 50 lakh of total tax during 2014-15.

 “The focus of the detailed manual scrutiny of the returns (of Service Tax) of those assessees which are not being audited. The detailed return scrutiny would be conducted in respect of such assessees whose total tax paid for 2014-15 is below Rs 50 lakh,” a CBEC Circular No.185/4/2015-Service Tax, dated June 30, said.

However, the assessees who are subject to service tax audits would not be covered under the detailed scrutiny programme.

“Small taxpayers, who usually do not fall within the ambit of service tax audits, may now be covered under the detailed scrutiny programme. With this, CBEC aims to strengthen the compliance verification mechanism”.

The selection of the asseessees for the purpose of manual scrutiny, CBEC said, would be made under three bands — where the Service Tax is paid up to Rs 10 lakh, Rs 10-25 lakh and Rs 25-50 lakh in 2014-15.

The Central Board of Excise Customs (CBEC) said that a two part system of return scrutiny was envisaged — a preliminary scrutiny which would be online and a detailed manual scrutiny of select returns based on specified parameters.

The circular said that the purpose of the preliminary scrutiny of returns is to ensure that complete and correct information has been furnished and the taxes have been paid timely.

It would also help in identification of “non-filers and stop-filers”.

The detailed manual scrutiny of Service Tax returns, CBEC said, would ensure correctness of the assessment made by the assessee.

The Scrutiny Officer is required to reconcile information furnished in various Service Tax and Income Tax return forms and any available third party information.

INCOMPLETE DOSSIERS

Data for DPC for the following officers of Mumbai Zone are still incomplete and needs co-operation from the concerned individuals to expedite the same.

Contrary to rumours, no DPC dates have been fixed.

	NAME OF OFFICER	COMMRTE	ACR/APAR	Vig Stat	Penlty Stat.	Integrity Stat.	Annx E	Annx F
1	DHIRENDRA KUMAR MISHRA	M&P/MUM II	NR	Recd	Recd	NR	NR	NR
2	V VIJAYA KUMAR	M&P/MUM III	NR	Recd	Recd	Recd	NR	Recd
3	ABRAHAM JACOB	MUMBAI II	Recd	NR	NR	Recd	Recd	Recd
4	R B PATIL	PUNE CUST	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR
5	K.V.MAHADIK	PUNE I	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR
6	K B THAKUR	PUNE I	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR
7	R N TONPE	PUNE I	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR
8	A J UPADHYAY	PUNE I	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR
9	SMT S S PRABHU	S TAX II/V	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR
10	V SRINIVASAN	ST AUDIT II	Recd	Recd	Recd	NR	NR	NR
11	R S PARTE	ST IV	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR

ANOTHER STAR IN OUR MIDST...

      Kumar Manish Sinha, has fulfilled his dream of clearing the Civil Services Exam-2014, secured the rank of 266.

     He joined the Central Excise Department, as an Inspector in Dec-2013 and is presently posted in a mofussil area, which is situated at the farthest end of Thane-II Commissionerate at Palghar Dn. He was staying alone and used to study for the Civil Services after putting in his best at the office.

     Kumar Manish Sinha, belongs to a middle class family from Aurangabad, Bihar, and is the eldest son of Late Shri R P Prasad & Meera Sinha. He completed his education from Sainik School and has obtained his B.E. in Electronics & Communications from Delhi College of Engineering. After completion of his formal education, he served in a private firm as a software engineer and later as a Railway Auditor in Northern Railway HQ at Baroda House, New Delhi.

     His father, Late Shri R P Prasad was a Bihar state government employee as a Block Welfare Officer. He passed away in 2010 and the struggle of the family began, but nothing deterred Manish from pursuing his dream of clearing the Civil Services exam as well as taking on the responsibility of his family as the eldest son.   Manish ascribes his success to the blessing of his parents & siblings and also to his dear friends.

    CESA, Mumbai, is proud of his achievement and salutes his indomitable spirit and hard work. May the Almighty bless him and his career in the Civil Services and fulfill all his wishes.

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PROUD OF OUR RUNNERS LIKE MILKHA SINGH...

                                                                                                             1) A team of officers of Service Tax, Mumbai, pointed out the evasion of Service Tax by a foreign Bank in April-2015 and issued Show Cause Cum Demand Notice. Being a foreign bank, there was resistance and reluctance from all the corners, but the officer finally succeeded and recovered the principal amount of Service Tax amounting to Rs. 186.54 Crores in June-2015.   Interest, Fine & Penalty are also liable and recoverable.

Officers : Supdts. Mohan Kapse & J S Dubey played an active role in the detection and recovery of the amount  under the supervision of Commissioner, ST-I.

Supdt. Mohan Kapse is instrumental in the recovery of over Rs. 578 Crores, during his tenure in Service Tax.  

         

 

 

  2) Another team of officers of Service Tax Audit-II pointed out the evasion of ST by a major pharmaceutical company amounting to Rs. 500 Crores (approx.) and were able to recover Rs. 30 Crores in June-2015.

            

  

 

Officers  : Supdts. Vasu Bhatia & S P Singh, played an active role in the detection and recovery of the amount under the supervision of the Commissioner ST Audit-II.

 

                                                                     3) One of the officers also pointed out the evasion of Service Tax by a foreign Bank in April-2015 and issued Show Cause Cum Demand Notice for an amount of Rs. 400 Crores and was able to recover Rs. 189 Crores. Interest, Fine & Penalty are also liable and recoverable.

Officer  : Supdt.  S P Singh, played an active role in the detection and recovery of the amount under the supervision of the Commissioner ST Audit-II.

CONGRATULATIONS !!!

Ms. Preeti Mishra, daughter of Shri P N Mishra, Superintendent (Retd.) Central Excise & Customs, of Uttarakhand, has realized her dream of clearing the All India Civil Services Examination-2014 !

But the dream did not just happen. It involved the toil and sweat of Preeti and also her parents.  She, in all humility, attributes her success to her father and mother Parvati’s support, than to her hard work.

Ms. Preeti, has completed her Bachelor of Pharmacy from Harish Chandra Postgraduate College, Varanasi.

CESA, Mumbai, congratulates Ms. Preeti Mishra and wishes her all success & support for her mission to serve the poor people of India as a Civil Servant.

CESA, Mumbai, also shares in this proud moment for her parents and family. We shall uphold her as an idol for the Central Excise family on her rise through hard work & determination.

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CONGRATULATIONS !!

CESA, MUMBAI, SALUTES PIONEER SHRI R C SHARMA

Shri R. C. Sharma joined the department as Direct Recruit Inspector of Central Excise, in the very first Batch of Staff Selection Commission in 1978. 

He hails from a small village in Haryana and landed in Kalyan, and in the earlier stages stayed in a dormitory. In the late 70's & early 80's, there was a large gap in the respect given to senior officers and to the newly recruited officers. No lower officer dared to raise any issue before the senior officers.  

Shri R C Sharma, founded the Central Excise Inspectors' Association in the erstwhile Thane Collectorate, later known as Mumbai-III Commissionerate.  He became the voice of the masses. No office bearer, present or past, reached his ability/calibre to deliver results to the cadre.

Shri R C Sharma started publishing in-house journals, namely "Sentinel" for the Inspectors Association and "Insight" for the All India Federation, for the dissemination of information about the activities of the Association.    

He was instrumental in the introduction of the official raising day of Central Excise since 1994 and observing 24-Feb every year as Central Excise Day. The letter he wrote to Board for this has been as it is been transcribed in Board Circular for the celebration of Excise Day.

In the history of Central Excise, he has called for an agitation on Budget Day in 1996. The Board sent a messenger to his residence at Panvel to convey that the demands of the Association have been accepted and to withdraw the call for agitation. He earned the presidential commendation award in 1994.  

He was successful in getting 2500 posts upgraded from Inspector to Supdt. He was also the first to book the first case in DEEC/DEPB scheme and expose the scam, which resulted in the Government being forced to withdraw the said scheme.

In the 1993 Bomb Blast case, he visited entire Marine & Preventive formation and submitted a detailed report to the Finance Minister & CBEC as well as to the Mumbai Police and fought for the dignity, safety of the officers posted to Marine & Preventive wing.

He was instrumental in the acquisition of 76 staff quarters at CBD, Belapur, and setting up of an office at P&P jetty. He always fought for the cadre and its officers, sacrificing his personal comforts, family life and career.  For the senior officers, he was an eye-sore, but for the cadre, he was always a saviour. Many agencies were engaged by his detractors to fix him, so as to destroy the leadership of the Association, but he remained unfazed and came out unscathed.

His sense and style of representation was so methodical, effective & marvellous, that the Administration was always on the back foot. He brought dignity to the cadre and gave strength to raise the voice against injustice without compromising dignity & interests of Revenue. Wherever he was posted, he left his footprints and his presence was felt.

Shri R C Sharma retired on 31-May-2015 as Assistant Commissioner of Customs, Mumbai, after putting in around 37 years of service.

The entire fraternity will miss him and CESA, Mumbai, salutes the pioneer of Mumbai Association for his selfless services, support and the capacity to lead from the front.

In the recent mega-function held on 26-June-2014, Shri R C Sharma was felicitated along with other senior officers of the Department.

The farewell of Shri R C Sharma, which was attended by his colleagues, friends and office bearers of Associations across the country, a few photos are annexed. The farewell speech will be uploaded shortly.