FAREWELL TO A HERO OF A GOLDEN PERIOD

JOINED AS ASSTT. COMMISSIONER - 08-NOV-1979

RETIRED AS MEMBER(ST), CBEC      - 30-NOV-2015

                Shri V. S. Krishnan at the age of 24 joined the Department as Asst. Commissioner in Bangalore  after completing his post-graduation in Economics from the prestigious Delhi School of Economics, New Delhi. Thereafter he served in various capacities in the Department at various places of the country. He was posted to Mumbai as Addl. Commr. in the year 2000 to 2002 and thereafter as Chief Commissioner from June-2013 to May-2015 and on elevation as Member of the CBEC, he went to New Delhi.

Shri Krishnan is a man of values and a person who puts into practice what he preaches. The passage of time i.e. around 33 years, from AC to Member-CBEC, did not alter his attitude of lack of interest in materialistic things, except maybe collecting and reading books. We the officers of Mumbai are fortunate enough to have senior officers with impeccable record of integrity like Shri P N Malhotra, Late Shri Daya Shankar, Shri Arun Sahu, whose entire career was dedicated to betterment of the Department and of its officers, irrespective of the obstacles placed before them.

Shri Krishnan was just like a missionary. From the very day of assuming the charge of Chief Commissioner of Mumbai Zone-I, he started his mission with the available resources, imparting knowledge, holding several seminars, both for staff and trade. He is the first officer who dared to have interaction on a one-to-one basis through open house meetings for central excise and service tax staff.  Unfortunately, time was too short for him; on holidays he used to visit the staff quarters especially of drivers and sepoys; also visited the dilapidated division/range offices of various commissionerates. Under his command, new premises like Lotus, Air India etc., were acquired and renovations of many office premises were started. To carry out this mission, money was not a constraint at all, because he was so methodical and articulate, that all proposals were processed diligently with justification and requirement, so as to avoid raising of any queries by the Ministry.

He was also a kind-hearted person - he empthasised with the problems of contigent workers and started a fund among the Grp-A officers to contribute towards the purchase of uniforms, shoes, water filters & other essential items for each contingent worker, which was presented to them on the Republic Day/Independence Day celebrations. He continued this practice and introduced the same in North Block after being elevated as Member CBEC. His concern towards the driver and his family members is very rare in the Department. He was so humble & simple that he continued to use the condemned Ambassador car for all purposes till he was holding the charge of Mumbai Zone and never asked for a private hired vehicle, even though all the Commissioners under him were using more modern and luxurious vehicles.

During his stint as Addl. Commissioner in Mumbai, he was the pioneer who introduced the EA-2000 Audit. He was nominated into many committees formed by the Board, for making changes in Scrutiny of Returns in Excise and Service Tax, various changes in CENVAT system etc. He also played a major and key role for designing the ensuing GST. He was member of the Parthasarathy Shome committee which was constituted for Tax Administrative Reforms. He was instrumental for improving and upgrading the skill-sets of the officers in Audit, especially in the aspect of Analysis of Financial Records and meticulous evaluation to plug revenue loss. In the Board he was considered a rising & dependable star because of his in-depth knowledge, vocabulary and articulate manner of speech, and was asked to be present whenever any seminars or any presentations were to be made before senior dignitaries like RS, MoS, FM.

In Transfer postings matters, Mumbai is considered to be very sensitive. Officers tried their best to be retained or to be posted according to their whims and desires. Shri Krishnan always kept the interest of the Department uppermost and dedicated his entire tenure for the Department. This can be easily gauged  - Shri Krishnan neither owns a vehicle or a house of his own or owns any latest electronic gadgets, even after serving the Department for more than 35 years.

CESA, Mumbai, will always cherish his tenure as a golden treasure in our memory and will always fondly remember Shri Krishnan’s contribution to the Department and will consider his tenure as a Golden period for Mumbai Zone. He not only gave a balanced transfer posting policy for Grp-B officers but also plotted a blue-print for improving the infrastructure, acquiring new office spaces and residential quarters for all the staff so that newly joined officers, either new inspectors/ministerial or new IRS probationers were not subject to any inconvenience. He will be remembered for his ability to motivate and impart knowledge & skill to the staff so that they are able to discharge their duties in a professional manner. Nothing seems to be un-attainable when officers like Shri Krishnan are heading the organization – to acquire office space at Air India and several new proposals for office as well as residential quarters and guest-house, renovations of various offices and quick resolution of staff grievances without any discrimination and in a time bound manner.

Shri Krishnan has held the largest number of DPC and Review DPC in respect of all cadres of this zone. His vision and concern to rectify the Seniority of the officers of this zone at zonal level as well as at the All India Level is unforgettable. In the cadre Restructuring meeting, he raised the issue of implementing the Parmar SC Judgement in Central Excise which compelled the Board to issue instructions accordingly. His contributions towards anomaly in 3^rd MACP, stepping up of pay with the Board is laudable. Shri Krishnan was always one step ahead than the Associations for demanding more funds from the Board towards computers and its peripherals.

We hope that the momentum generated by Shri Krishnan will be continued and his legacy will be maintained. We pray that the Govt. of India will tap into his vast knowledge, skill, experience and use him greatly in the future, especially for the implementation of GST tax regime. His integrity, dedication, honesty, humbleness, kindness, simpleness and saintly behaviour will always remain as a model in the years to come.

With best wishes to him and his family, who stood behind him like a rock.  We also wish him a long, healthy, peaceful, & god-willing a dynamic second innings.