Stop the humiliation of Seniors made to report to Juniors

Ref. No: CBIC/43/2020 Date: 15.10.2020 [CLICK HERE FOR THE PDF VERSION]

To

1) Shri. M. Ajit Kumar, Chairman, CBIC, New Delhi.

2) Smt. Sungita Sharma, Member (And & Vig), CBIC, New Delhi.

Sir/Madam,

Sub: Request to stop Seniors being forced to report to their natural Juniors by faulty HR policies - reg.

Instances of posting of very Junior Officers from Customs, on promotion as Assistant Commissioners to GST formations are increasing. As detailed in our letter dated 22.06.2020, there are several Superintendents in GST who have completed more than 30 years and are even running their 36th or 37th year of service, from the grade of Inspector. On the other hand, the Assistant Commissioners posted to GST from the Customs side have completed hardly 20 to 25 years. This is because of the faulty ratio being followed in respect of promotions between the three streams in Customs and Central Excise, not regulated till date in a fair and equitable manner as laid down by the Hon’ble Supreme Court in its judgment dated 03.08.2011 in the case of S.P. Dudeja and ors (Civil Appeal No. 11958 of 2005) directing to amend/revise the RRs including by altering the ratio between the three feeder cadres in such a manner that the representation in the promotional post will be just and fair. The very fact that the Appraiser and Examiner promotees are overflowing and have therefore to be accommodated in the GST formations itself is ample proof that the ratio being adopted is neither just, nor fair.

2. The above situation would not have arisen if the combined length of service from the common feeder cadre of Inspectors of Central Excise, Preventive Officers and Examiners of Customs, who are recruited through the same exam, was adopted as the criteria for promotion to Group A and the Recruitment Rules had been amended as per the above judgment of the Hon’ble Apex Court. It would not have happened also if the Board’s own decision of 1996 to merge these three feeder cadres had been implemented.

3. The failure of our HR policy on the above score had also had a further cascading effect by increasing the distortions and inequalities between the Zones in Central Excise itself. In certain zones those who joined as Inspectors in 1992 could expect to become ACs in the nextround of DPC and become supervisory officers of persons in another Zone of Central Excise itself, who has joined in the Inspector cadre in 1985 or 1986. There cannot be a more pathetic and disgraceful situation for a cadre which is the main stay of this department.

4. Hence, the All India Executive Committee of this Association in its virtual meet held on 11.10.2020 unanimously resolved to bring the above anomalous and degrading situation to your immediate attention and appeal that ‘until the above distortions within CBIC, in respect of ratio of promotions between the officers recruited through the same exam are corrected, no officer promoted from a junior batch shall be posted to supervise a Superintendent of Central Excise/GST, who has been selected by an earlier process of selection/recruitment’.

5. Hence it is requested that urgent orders may kindly be issued in this regard, so that, no Senior has to face the humiliation of reporting to a Junior, for none of their fault.

6. Wherever immediate transfers or shifting of such juniors is not immediately possible, orders may kindly be issued that the said Seniors would directly report ONLY to the next Higher Authority who is not their natural junior from the same exam and the Juniors WILL NOT BE REPORTING OFFICERS FOR THESE SENIORS IN THE APAR.


With regards,

Yours truly,


(R. Manimohan)

Secretary General

Copy for information and necessary action to:

1) The DG, DGHRM, CBIC, New Delhi.

2) The Joint Secretary (Admn), CBIC, New Delhi.

 

(R. Manimohan)

Secretary General