Important developments pertaining to the cadre

 

 

 

Dear friends and comrades,

Review Petition dismissed:

We did not have the time to celebrate the dismissal of the review petition of the Government in the Subramanaim case.  As usual, those who worked against the demand and had nothing to do with the proceedings throughout have advertised it as if they had some thing to do in that.  In fact, even the petitioner side had nothing to do in the review since the Hon’ble Court itself rejected the Review Petition.  Copy of the order is given above.

Suspension of Shri. A.S.Kundu, GS of Surat-Daman

While it was a good news for our cadre, the same day we had received news that Shri. A.S.Kundu, the GS of our Surat-Daman unit had been suspended.  The page one of the suspension letter dated 17.08.18 has been reproduced above. Members are requested to go through the reasons given in the suspension order with the contents of the letter of Shri. Ravi Malik dated 7.8.18 to the CC, Ahmedabad may be compared.  On the very day Shri. Ravi Malik sent a letter to the CC Ahmedabad, the Commissioner of Ahmedabad issues a letter to the Association, on the same lines.  One should not ask whether it had enough time for the letter to reach the Commissioner’s office from the CC’s Office itself. It could very well be understood how an evidence had been created for preparing a suspension order, of an office bearer of an association.

The units all over India have condemned this suspension.  They have also condemned the involvement of Sh. Ravi Malik in this episode.

Attempt to divide the cadre:

When the Chennai Convention was held and Office Bearers of the AIACEGEO were elected, some of the supporters of the former SG had stated that we were trying to divide the cadre. But just see the message Sh. Ravi Malik had posted in a facebook group. It is evident that after the hearings conducted by the committee constituted by Board on the matter of recognition renewal on 17^th and 27^th of July 2018, the group lead by our former SG decided to create a second association.  As things stand they do not have even 15% membership to seek recognition for a second Association to be recognized under the CCS (RSA) Rules. Hence, it appears that an emergency meeting in the name of an EC is to be held at Lucknow on 22^nd and 23^rd of September, 2018.  The notice for the meeting has been issued even more than 40 days in advance.  Now the message seeking to divide the cadre could be understood.  Attempts are on to get atleast one or two persons from each unit to attend such a meeting at Lucknow.  The plan is to show that while we have 24 units (elected and functional), they also have more units than that.

The Board can be expected to await the outcome of the proceedings at Lucknow on 22^nd and 23^rd of September 2018. 

Members can understand the sequence of the above events. 

It is for the cadre to decide who should represent them.

 

Call to pay homage to a great leader of India by contributing for distress relief.

Dear Friends,

AIACEGEO dips its flag in mourning on the passing away of one of the great sons of the Country.

He was a poet, visionary, statesman and a great unifier.

Cutting across differences, people loved him and respected him.

We also are concerned about the grave situation prevailing in the country due to heavy rains, floods and land slides in various parts of the country.

Almost the entire state of Kerala is inundated and the great river Periyar is in spate, having spread to both sides to 7 kms each. All 39 dams of Kerala have been opened and yet the rains are unabated. Most of the parts of the state have become refugee camps. 

Similar distress is reported from coastal parts of Karnataka, Uttarkand and Himachal Pradesh.

The satellite picture given above will show the situation caused due to dense clouds imposing upon the subcontinent.

Hence, considering the grave situation prevailing in these places, we feel that it will be a fitting homage to the departed leader, if all of us could make contributions to the Chief Ministers Distress Relief Fund of the respective states to the extend possible be each of us.

Those of us who believe in prayers may do so also.

R. Manimohan,
Secretary General,
AIACEGEO

FINAL PROPOSALS OF AIACEGEO

Dear Friends,

The final proposals on behalf of our Association has been submitted after obtaining inputs from all quarters.

Members who want to send some improved proposals could still do so in their individual capacities.

The proposals submitted are as per the requirements of the overall interests of our cadre.  We have refrained from putting some unworkable and populist demands.

This CR is going to be a defining moment in our careers.

If we get some benefit, we can survive.  Otherwise, it is the end of the bridge.

Let us be cautious about those vested interests which would like to hear 'their voice', from our side.

To strengthen our own voice, we have to study the developments in similar departments and similar cadres.

Let us also remember that this is only the first stage.  The real tough time will be after the draft proposals are finalized.  It is at that time we have to be alert.

So all Office Bearers and members may collect as much materials as possible and enable the AIEC to effectively put forth our arguments, at the time of finalization of the CR.

Proposals:

CONSOLIDATED PROPOSALS OF AIACEGEO

FOR CADRE RESTRUCTURING 2018

 

1. Organisation to be structured according to the present day requirement.

1.1. The CBIC does not any more enjoy autonomy in policy making or its implementation,as far as GST is concerned.  The policy for GST is made by the GST Council and CBIC is only an implementation agency for Central GST.  Even the assessee base is not stable since it undergoes a change every 3 years, or even as may be decided by the GST Council from time to time. The Organisational structure of CBIC for GST implementation has to be comparable to the best standards of the State GST organizations.

 

1.2.   In respect of Customs, the CBIC has to take a call regarding how to regulate postings into Land Customs areas from its GST formations and how to maintain the staffing pattern without affecting the service interests of the personnel deployed therein.

 

1.3.   If the service conditions and career progression of personnel on both sides in the CBIC (GST and Land Customs on one hand and pure Customs on the other) cannot be regulated on an equitable and fair basis, either the Board should be bifurcated or the cadres be divided up to a point which would ensure that no junior person having been recruited to the CBIC by the same process and at the same level would ever become a supervising officer to a senior on the other side. During such a division or bifurcation, it is imperative that a onetime option should be obtained from all the staff to enable them to choose between the two streams and their seniority has to be regulated as per principles of inter-se-seniority based on the date of initiation of the process of recruitment for the initial post to which they had been appointed.

 

1.4.   The following inequalities in career progression have crept in, at the intra-departmental level, demoralizing the largest segment of the executive cadre in the field, viz., the Inspector born community on the Central Excise and GST side within the CBIC.

 

Situation after promotion Order of 2018
Sl. No.	Cadre born in	Year of joining of Officers senior most promoted
1.	Inspector Central Excise	1984 & 1985
2.	Preventive Officer	1993 & 1994
3.	Examiner	1998 & 1999

 

1.5.   Among Officers recruited through the same SSC Exam for the same position within the Finance Ministry, the inequality in career progression is as below:

Name of the cadre	Present position
Inspector of Income Tax	Who joined in 1989 have become AddlCommisioners
Examiners of Customs	Who joined in 1998 have become ACs
Preventive Officers	Who joined in 1993 have become ACs
Inspectors of Central Excise	Who joined in 1985 are continuing only as Superintendents without even a second promotion

 

1.6.   The MACP has not done any benefit to the Officers recruited as Inspectors, with the pre-revised scale of Rs. 4600 in PB-2.The Officers recruited against the pay scale of Rs. 4600 PB-2 on promotion in the Central Excise/GST side had taken as much as upto 18-20 years for the first promotion to the post of Superintendent with the pay scale of only Rs. 4800 PB-2.  In ACP the scale could be obtained in 12 years.  On completion of 4 years in the above scale the person could go to Rs.5400 PB-2.  Though the said enhanced Grade Pay is part of the same scale and has been held to be so by the Hon’ble Supreme Court in the case of M. Subramaniam in our department and in many other cases as well, the said decision has been taken on review and as a result the benefit has not reached the members.  Due to this distortion, the GP of Rs.5400 PB-2 could alone be achieved through 2^ndMACP on completion of 20 years in most of the parts of India.  With the third MACP on completion of 30 years or on promotion as Assistant Commissioner the officer goes only to GP of 5400 in PB-3.  In all the above cases, there is only a fixation benefit for the individuals concerned.  No other service under the Central Government is known to have such a bleak career progression index.  Yet, it is this accursed community which is expected to perform the maximum tasks at the cutting edge in the field all these decades.

 

1.7.   Hence, as permitted by the MACP/ACP Scheme itself, we should be able to have a scheme for time bound promotions in CBIC.This will ensure that the intra-zonal and intra-departmental inequalities in promotions will be mitigated.Ideally each officer should be ensured of a career progression atleast to the extent as shown below:

On completion of	To be promoted as
8 years from entry as Inspector	Superintendent
15 years from entry as Inspector	Assistant Commissioner
20 years from entry as Inspector	Deputy Commissioner
25 years from entry as Inspector	Joint Commissioner
30 years from entry as Inspector	Additional Commissioner
35 years from entry as Inspector	Commissioner

 

1.8.   Further, the present number of 2118 posts of Assistant Commissioners maintained outside the Group A Recruitment Rules as ‘Temporary posts’, should be made permanent and regularized along with the regularization to be undertaken in from 1.1.97 in a just and fair ratio as directed by the Hon’ble Supreme Court in the judgment dated 03.08.2011 in CIVIL APPEAL NO. 1198 OF 2005 (S.P. DUDEJA & ORS VERSUS UNION OF INDIA & ORS). 

 

1.9.   As a permanent measure, a separate Group B Recruitment Rules may be framed in CBIC, either together with the Exclusively Customs Cadres, after merger as decided in 1996, or separately for the GST and Land Customs on one hand and Exclusive Customs formations on the other, in the lines of the IFS Group B Services enclosed as Annexure A. To illustrate that these services co-exist along with the IFS Group A Services, copy of the IFS Group A Services is also enclosed as Annexure B.This alone will ensure that all intra zonal, inter zonal and intra departmental disputes regarding seniority and promotional inequalities will be settled by ensuring a time bound career progression.  This will also ensure that the 2118 posts of Assistant Commissioners (Temporary) becomes regular and subsumed and that the time bound promotion required due to the ineffectiveness of MACP to cater to the requirements of the Officers recruited as Inspectors in CBIC is mitigated. We are also providing a Draft Group B Recruitment Rules as Annexure C.

 

2.       Each post should have a definite role in terms of duties and responsibilities, in each formation.

         

2.1.   Duties and responsibilities of each post and in each formation have to be notified in definite terms.  No cadre review and work study could be done in a scientific manner without being aware as to what work is to be performed by each cadre/post. 

 

2.2.   Due to this vital prescription not being in place, we have come to a point where most of the work is loaded on the Superintendents who have 10 hierarchical cadres above only to supervise, ask questions, give directions – at times impracticable due to the absolute innocence of the concerned higher authority regarding the actual field/legal position, call for reports in all hues and designs, but have no assistanceto even lend a helping hand, due to (i) dire shortage of Inspectors in terms of sanction as well as working strength and (ii) non-specification of duties for that cadre also.

 

2.3.   A copy of the duty list issued by the CBDT is enclosed as Annexure D for reference so that before embarking upon a study for re-organisation and number of posts to be maintained at each level, a duty list is prepared for the existing cadres in the department.

 

3.       Responsibilities should be on par with the comparable cadres:

 

3.1.   When defining the duties and responsibilities of Officers in the GST, it has to be on par with that of their counterparts in the State GSTs.

 

3.2.   In most of the States, powers of scrutiny or assessment have been spread across the cadres of Assistant Commercial Tax Officers (equivalent to the Inspectors in CBIC), Commercial Tax Officers (equivalent to Superintendents), Assistant Commissioners and Deputy Commissioners. 

 

3.3.   In the Income Tax also, Circles are headed by either an Income Tax Officer or by an Assistant Commissioner according to revenue limits.

 

3.4.   On the contrary, a majority of the statutory roles have been allocated to only the Superintendents in CBIC. The rule wise functions, for each post as per the Central GST Act is enclosed as Annexure E.  Necessary corrections have to be made to the Central GST Act to even out this difference and bring in rationality.

 

3.5.   The following are some of the major items of responsibilities suggested to be distributed to different cadres in the field:

(i)                  Officer in every cadre shall be vested with their own financial and administrative functions.

(ii)                The fixing of duties and responsibilities shall be on par with the level of responsibility of the posts held and salary drawn. Higher the cadre and salary, higher should be the duties and responsibilities.

(iii)               Responsibilities for scrutiny shall be clearly demarcated between all the cadres as follows :

Post	Turnover of tax payers
Inspector	from Rs.10 to 50 lakhs
Superintendents	Ø  Rs.50 lakhs to Rs. 2Crores
Assistant Commissioner	Ø  Rs. 2 to 10 Crores
Deputy Commissioner	Ø  Rs.10 to 50 Crores
Joint Commissioner	Ø  Rs.50 to 200 Crores
Additional Commissioner	Ø  Rs.200 to 500 Crores
Commissioner	Ø  Rs.500 Crores.

 

(iv)               Extent and percentage of scrutiny at each level shall be specified.

(v)                There should be a random scrutiny by an Officer one level above, for a specified percentage, so that responsibility will be specific as well as collective.

(vi)               Adjudication powers may be prescribed for each post as below:

Post	Turnover of tax payers
Superintendents	UptoRs. 20 Lakhs
Assistant Commissioner	Ø  Rs. 20 Lakhs to 30 Lakhs
Deputy Commissioner	Ø  Rs.30 Lakhs to 50 Lakhs
Joint Commissioner	Ø  Rs.50 Lakhs to 1Crore
Additional Commissioner	Ø  Rs. 1 Crore to Rs. 3Crores
Commissioner	Ø  Rs.3Crores.

 

(vii)              Commissioners may be given Revisionary powers as done in the State GSTs.

 

4.       The number of posts at each level should be commensurate to the actual field requirements.

         

4.1.   The staff pattern of State GST in Maharashtra, Gujarat&Chhattishgarh are as below:

Name of post	Maharashtra	Gujarat	Chhattishgarh
Deputy Commissioner	401	82	15
Assistant Commissioner	590	269	72
Sales Tax Officer (Gr. B Gazetted)	1191	717	100

 

4.2.   The sanctioned and working strength of different cadres in Commercial Tax Departments in Karnataka is given below in detail:

SL.NO	DESIGNATION	SANCTIONED POSTS	WORKING STRENGTH	VACANT POSTS
GROUP A AND B POSTS
01	COMMERCIAL TAX COMMISSIONER  IAS	1	1	0
02	COMMERCIAL TAX ADDITIONAL COMMISSIONER IAS	1	1	0
03	COMMERCIAL TAX ADDITIONAL COMMISSIONER	14	9	5
04	COMMERCIAL TAX JOINT COMMISSIONER	42	37	5
05	COMMERCIAL TAX DEPUTY COMMISSIONER	153	81	72
06	COMMERCIAL TAX ASSISTANT COMMISSIONER	386	290	96
07	COMMERCIAL TAX OFFICER	626	509	117
	SUB TOTAL 1	1223	928	295
GROUP C AND D POSTS
08	COMMERCIAL TAX INSPECTORS	1367	842	525
09	FIRST DIVISION ASSISTANT	837	678	159
10	STENOGRAPHERS	442	188	254
11	SECOND DIVISION ASSIATANT	1661	892	769
12	TYPIST	459	97	362
13	TAX RECOVERY OFFICER	508	190	318
14	TELEPHONE OPERATORS	4	0	4
15	ELECTRICIAN	1	0	1
16	DRIVERS	215	108	107
17	DESPATCH RIDERS	1	0	1
18	LIFT OPERATORS	8		8
19	CONSOLE OPERATOR	4	0	4
20	SUPERVISOR	4	0	4
21	NUMBER ENDORSERS	36	0	29
22	GROUP D STAFF	1172	330	842
	SUB TOTAL 2	6719	3332	3387
	GRAND TOTAL(1+2)	7942	4259	3683

 

4.3.   The sanctioned and working strength of different cadres in Commercial Tax Departments in Tamil Nadu is given below in detail:

SNo	Name of the Post			Scale of Pay (Rs.)	Grade	Pay Band		sanctioned	Actual
					Pay			Strength	strength
(1)	(2)			(3)	(4)	(5	)	(6)	(7)
1	Commissioner of Commercial Taxes			I.A.S. Cadre				1	1
2	Joint Commissioner ( Admn )			I.A.S. Cadre				1	0
3	Joint Commissioner (CT)			I.A.S. Cadre				4	4
4	Additional Commissioner (CT)			37400 - 67000	8800	P.B-	4	7	5
5	Joint Commissioner (CT)			15600 - 39100	7600	P.B	3	29	27
6	Joint Director of Statistics			15600 - 39100	7600	P.B-	3	1	1
7	Deputy Commissioner ( GS )			15600 - 39100	7600	P.B	3	1	1
8	Financial Advisor and CAO			15600 - 39100	7600	P.B	3	1	1
9	Legal Officer			15600 - 39100	7600	P.B-	3	1	0
10	Deputy Commissioner ( CT )			15600 - 39100	6600	P.B-	3	98	53
11	Assistant Commissioner ( GS )			15600 - 39100	6600	P.B-	3	1	0
12	System Analyst			15600 - 39100	6600	P.B-	3	3	3
13	Assistant Director of  Statistics/ Lecturer			15600 - 39100	5400	P.B-	3	1	1
14	Programmer			15600 - 39100	5400	P.B  -  3		2	0
15	Administrative Officer			15600 - 39100	5400	P.B-	3	6	2
16	Public Relations Officer			15600 - 39100	5400	P.B-	3	1	1
17	Assistant Commissioner (C.T )			15600 - 39100	5400	P.B-	3	353	285
18	Commercial Tax Officer			9300 - 34800	5100	P.B-	2	684	575
19	Statistical Officer			9300 - 34800	5100	P.B-	2	1	1
20	Junior Research Officer			9300 - 34800	5100	P.B-	2	10	8
21	TNMS  /Superintendent			9300 - 34800	4800	P.B -	2	32	32
22	Deputy Commercial Tax Officer			9300 - 34800	4800	P.B-	2	1334	1009
23	Statistical Inspector			9300 - 34800	4800	P.B-	2	36	6
24	Deputy Programmer			9300 - 34800	4600	P.B  -  2		4	4
25	Assistant Programmer			9300 - 34800	4400	P.B-	2	18	16
26	Stenographer  - Grade I			9300 - 34800	4300	P.B-	2	1	1
27	Stenographer - Grade II			9300 - 34800	4200	P.B-	2	7	3
28	Service Engineer			5200 - 20200	2800	P.B-	1	1	1
29	Junior Draughtsman			5200 - 20200	2800	P.B-	1	1	0
30	Assistant / Sales Tax Collection Inspector / Gujarathi			5200 - 20200	2800	P.B  -  1		2524	1629
	Assistant / System Assistant
31	Stenographer - Grade III			5200 - 20200	2800	P.B-	1	127	112
32	Assistant Statistical Investigator			5200 - 20200	2800	P.B-	1	2	1
33	Junior Assistant			5200 - 20200	2400	P.B-	1	1443	885
34	Typist			5200 - 20200	2400	P.B-	1	652	336
35	Driver			5200 - 20200	2400	P.B-	1	234	182
36	Telephone Operator (Junior Assistant )			5200 - 20200	2000	P.B -	1	1	0
37	Service Assistant			5200 - 20200	1900	P.B-	1	2	0
38	Telephone Operator  ( RC)			4800 - 10000	1400	P.B-	1A	4	0
39	Record Clerk			4800 - 10000	1400	P.B  -	1A	706	405
40	Lift Operator			4800 - 10000	1400	P.B-	1A	11	3
41	Office Assistant			4800 - 10000	1300	P.B-	1A	1294	676
42	Duffedar			4800 - 10000	1300	P.B  -	1A	2	2
43	Gardener			4800 - 10000	1300	P.B-  1A		1	0
44	Masalchi / Watchman /Watchman cum-			4800 - 10000	1300	P.B-  1A		81	61
	Sweeper/Guard/Water Carrier
45	Load Man			4800 - 10000	1300	P.B -  1A		10	6
	GRAND TOTAL							9734	6339

 

 

4.4.   In comparison to the above, we have thefollowing staffing pattern for GST in CBIC as on date:

Category	No of posts
Principal Chief Commissioner	7
Chief Commissioner	14
Principal Commissioner	30
Commissioner	174
Joint/Additional Commissioner	454
Assistant / Deputy Commissioner	2339
SUPDT/APPRAISERS	12229
INSP/EXAMINER/PO	16138

 

4.5.   Staff patterns in Odisha and Bihar State GSTs specifically compared to the Central GST of the respective regions are illustrated below:

Comparison of Posts under CGST and SGST in Odisha
Name of post	Sanctioned strength in CGST administration	Sanctioned strength in SGST administration
Chief Commissioner	1	0
Commissioner	4	1
ADC/JC	9	40
DC/AC	48	96
Superintendent +Inspector	522	419
Comparison of Posts under CGST and SGST in Bihar
Name of post	Sanctioned strength in CGST administration	Sanctioned strength in SGST administration
Chief Commissioner	1	0
Commissioner	4	1
ADC/JC	8	67
DC/AC	41	313
Superintendent +Inspector	364	403

 

4.6.   A similar comparison done in the case of Kerala is as below:

Name of post	Sanctioned strength in CGST administration	Sanctioned strength in SGST administration
PCC/Chief Commissioner	1	0
PC/Commissioner	7	1
ADC/JC	12	4
DC/AC	56	163
Superintendent	339	557
Inspector	532	981
Ministerial	211	2018
Drivers	29	130
Havaldars/Head Havaldars/Office Assts	330	757

 

4.7.   From the above comparison between the State GST staffing patterns with the Staffing pattern in the Central GST, the following primary points are observed:

(i)                  The ratio between the promotional posts and the higher posts are better in the State GSTs, particular at Group B and entry level to Group A.

(ii)                They have more hands at the lower levels to perform mundane and office work while the Executive Staff are better utilised for field activities.

(iii)               The posts in higher scales of the Group A structure in the State GSTs have functional justifications.

(iv)               The State GSTs have a more comprehensive and stable structure including infrastructure like vehicles and drivers in enough numbers.

 

4.8.   Some reasons for the distorted structure in CBIC:

(i)                Creation of posts to enable promotions alone, without specific necessity or duties.

(ii)               Surrender of more posts at the lower levels to create fewer posts at higher levels with more pay, in the name of matching saving.

(iii)             Whenever newer levies like Service Tax were implemented, the extra work was loaded on the pre-existing work force.

(iv)             Diversions of posts from Central Excise/GST areas to Land Customs work without creation of posts for such formations.

(v)              Re-organisations or cadre reviews conducted without relation to the actual work load at each point and formation, but only based on revenue.

(vi)             Transgression into LTU method of assessment and audit.

(vii)            Technology like ACES and GSTN, expected to reduce manpower at lower levels, designed and implemented without taking into account the necessities of the department, but only based on theoretical knowledge of the software designers, thereby, increasing work load for actual data capturing, as required by various authorities.

 

4.9.   The heat of the distortion created due to the above reasons is now felt, when the performance of the CBIC in GST is sought to be compared with that of the State GSTs.     

 

4.10. The Chief Commissioner of Hyderabad therefore came up with the following analysis, to compare the position of the Central GST vis-à-vis the State GST.

4.11. Accordingly, the following proposals are made for augmentation of staff and distribution of work on an equitable and comparable basis, to be competitive with the State GST structures:

 

(i)                  The present Ranges may be renamed as Circles with each circle to be headed by an Assistant Commissioner who shall be vested with the Executive powers of Registration, Survey, Scrutiny, etc.

(ii)                The number of tax payers should be only in the range of 500 to 600 depending upon the jurisdictions for effective management.

(iii)               Jurisdiction shall be determined based on the PIN Code of the tax payers’ principle place of business.

(iv)               AC/DC shall be the supervisory Officer for a Circle consisting of 2 Superintendents, 6 Inspectors,12STA/EAs, 2 Head Havaldar/Havaldar and 4nos of MTS staff.

(v)                The Circle shall be divided into two groups. One group for carrying out the work of GST Scrutiny, Registrations, Refunds, Sensitization, Survey etc and the second group to concentrate on the works relating to Legacy of erstwhile Central Excise, Service tax assesses viz., issuance of periodical Show Cause Notices, all previous ERs/ ST-3 assessments, RnC of all previous returns, monitoring of default payments, collection of arrears of revenue, etc. [As per the erstwhile Central Excise and Service Tax laws, legacy work will remain for the next five adjudicating years and  shortage of staff will lead to heavy revenue loss.]

(vi)               Every group will consist of One Superintendent, 3 Inspectors, 6 STA, 1 Havaldar and 2 MTS.

(vii)              Every 5 circles shall be constituted into a Division.

(viii)            Every division shall be headed by a Joint Commissioner with one AC/DC for Adjudication, Refunds and Scrutiny purposes, one AC/DC for Legacy work of Central Excise and Service tax laws including realization of arrears, monitoring of scrutiny of returns, default realisations, Adjudication &call book etc and a third AC/DC for administration, Infrastructure for all the circles and divisions, staff management, pay bills etc.

(ix)               Under the charge of the Assistant Commissioners number one and two,there shall be twoSuperintendents, four Inspectors, 2 STA/ EAs, 1 Havaldar and two MTS staff.

(x)                The third AC shall be assisted by 1 AO, One DOS level officer, 2 EAs/ STAs. 2 Head havaldar, 4 MTS staff and one Inspector for PRO work.

(xi)               The Hqrs Office shall comprise of One Commissioner for every 5 Divisions.  There shall be One Additional Commissioner for all Review work and One Joint Commissioner for Preventive / E-way bill verification and a third Joint Commissioner for all Administrative functions such as Estt/Admn/Vigilance/Pay bills etc.  Each of the above officers shall be assisted by One AC for four sections which will function with Two Superintendents, six Inspectors, 2 EAs/STAs, One havaldar and two MTS, each.

(xii)              There shall be separate Commissionerates for Preventive, Audit and Appeal functions.

(xiii)            Every Commissionerate should have the same strength of officers as that of their executive counterparts.

(xiv)            There shall be adequate field staff for the functioning of verification of E way bills, auditing of units etc.

(xv)             There shall be one Audit Commissionerate for every Executive Commissionerate. At present, the Audit Commissionerates are auditing only 5.5% to 6% of the tax payers.  The staff strength should be increased to Audit at least 20% of the total taxpayers in every Commissionerate. This will enable audit of 100% taxpayers in a period of 5 years.

(xvi)            Every state shall have a separate directorate for Supervisory functions in respect of Training, Anti -Evasion, Audit, Data warehousing etc. presently functioning as DGGST, NACIN, Directorate of Audit, Directorate of Systems etc. Special pay should be made available tothe incumbentsin these Directorates to ensure that Officers with proper aptitude and willingness opt for these posts.

(xvii)           All offices and sections shall be provided with proper space as per rules in force with supporting staff and infrastructure for record rooms etc.

(xviii)          All formations, from the Circle upto the Headquarters should be augmented with proper vehicle facilities.

(xix)            For all Officers having adjudication powers Stenos should be provided.

(xx)             The functions of scrutiny, adjudication, etc should be made flexible for adjacent posts in the hierarchy so as to fit into the requirement of enabling time-bound promotions as suggested in earlier paras.

(xxi)              Considering the vast experience of the CBEC in dealing with classification/ valuation disputes on manufacture, service and clearances, the entire work of Audit and Anti-evasion of all GST assesses may be sought to be done by the Union Government.Consortiums under the GST council for the above said purposes, consisting of higher posts, not carrying justification in the GST set-up and that could not be utilized in the Customs and Directorates should be created, to utilize the services and rich experiences of those officers.  Officers from the Central GST as well as State GSTs could be taken on deputation to these consortiums, upto the level of Joint Commissioners.

 

5.       Each post should carry pay commensurate to the level of responsibilities and comparable to that of the equivalent and similarly placed posts in other organizations.

 

5.1.   The Superintendents of C.Ex & GST have to be placed in the replacement scale of Rs. 5400 in PB-2.  This will settle the anomaly viv-a-vis the Superintendents of Posts, etc as elaborated in Annexure F. This is expenditure neutral. 

 

5.2.   If a post of Senior Superintendent is to be created, it may be only in the replacement scale of Rs. 5400 in PB-3.  All Superintendents of C.Ex& GST currently drawing the replacement scale of Rs. 5400 in PB-2 should be upgraded Sr. Superintendents or as Assistant Commissioners with the scale of Rs. 5400 in PB-3. This is also expenditure neutral and will settle the disparity between the situation of Superintendents of GST in CBIC vis-à-vis their counterparts in State GSTs.

         

5.3.   In states of Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu, the ACTOs equivalent to our Inspectors are on the pay scale of Rs. 4800 in P.B-2. In Rajasthan, the CTOs, equivalent to our Superintendents are on the scale of Rs. 6000, while their counterparts in West Bengal and Maharashtra are on the scale of Rs. 5400.  The equivalent cadres in other State GSTs are also moving towards having a uniform pay structure along with the highest in the segment. Further, in some of the states like Telengana, all the Officers have been upgraded by one level.

 

5.4.   Thus, it becomes imperative to place the Inspectors on the pay scale of Rs. 4800 PB-2 and Superintendents on the pay scale of 5400 PB-3.  If the pay scale of Rs. 5400 in PB-2 is to be maintained to the Inspectors on completion of 4 years in the scale of Rs. 4800 PB-2 then it could be designated as Superintendent and the scale of Rs. 5400 PB-3 be designated as Senior Superintendent, in which case the scale of Assistant Commissioner shall be Rs. 6600 PB-3.

 

Synopsis of proposals:

1)                  In re-organisation of GST and Customs, either the Board should be bifurcated or the cadres be divided up to a point which would ensure that no junior would become a supervising officer to a senior.

2)                  During such a division or bifurcation, a onetime option should be obtained from all the staff to enable them to choose between the two streams.

3)                  Each officer should be ensured of a career progression atleast to the extent as shown below:

On completion of	To be promoted as
8 years from entry as Inspector	Superintendent
15 years from entry as Inspector	Assistant Commissioner
20 years from entry as Inspector	Deputy Commissioner
25 years from entry as Inspector	Joint Commissioner
30 years from entry as Inspector	Additional Commissioner
35 years from entry as Inspector	Commissioner

 

4)                  The present number of 2118 ‘Temporary posts’ of Assistant Commissioners should be made permanent and regularized.

5)                  As a permanent measure, a separate Group B Recruitment Rules may be framed in CBIC on the lines of the IFS Gr B Rules.

6)                  Duties and responsibilities of each post and in each formation have to be notified in definite terms. 

7)                  Responsibility for scrutiny and adjudication powers to be spread over to cadres upto Commissioners.

8)                  Functions of scrutiny, adjudication, etc should be made flexible for adjacent posts in the hierarchy so as to fit into the requirement of enabling time-bound promotions.

9)                  Staff strength and infrastructure to be augmented in such a manner as to be competitive with the State GST formations.

10)               Inspectors to be placed on the pay scale of Rs. 4800 PB-2 and Superintendents on Rs. 5400 PB-2.

11)               All Superintendents currently on Rs. 5400 PB-2 to be upgraded to Rs. 5400 PB-3.

12)               If Rs. 5400 PB-3 is renamed as Senior Superintendents, Assistant Commissioners to be placed on pay scale of Rs. 6600 PB-3.