M. Ajit Kumar
Chairman
Ministry of Finance
Department of Revenue
Central Board of Indirect Taxes & Customs
North Block, New Delhi-110 001
Tel. No. : +91-11-23092849, Fax No. : +91-11-23092890
E-mail : ajit.m@gov.in
D.O.No. 30/CH(IC)/2020
Date: 31st August 2020
Dear Colleague
Last week I had informed you about certain major beneficial increases made in our welfare scheme for our officers and staff. This week attention turns to Human Resource (HR) and Administration which are two important pillars of cadre management. The Boards endeavour is to carry out continuous improvements in these areas too.
In a move to smoothen and expedite the deputation workflow, ‘e-Pratinyukti’, the Board inaugurated the single-window online deputation module on 28th August, 2020. Similarly, an ‘e-Disposition List’ module is also set to be functional from September 2020.
The ‘e-Pratinyukti’ module brings together all concerned stakeholders – AD-II, AD-V, DGoV, DGHRD and all CC/DG offices – on a single platform to ensure optimum synergy between all of them. It envisages an end-to-end cadre clearance within 10 working days from the receipt of an application online. The aim is to enhance efficiency and transparency while promoting ease of processing deputation applications. The officer can track the status of his application and will also receive SMS alerts at every stage. A detailed SOP has also been issued by DGHRD in this regard. This module with suitable modifications should soon be extended to the zones for local deputation requests that do not involve the Board. This also ticks the completion box of DGHRD for launching the Module within the time-limit of the Annual Plan.
The ‘e-Disposition List’ module is now ready to replace the existing manual system of monthly reporting of disposition by field formations, commonly known as Disposition List. The module has been developed during the period Jan-July, 2020 followed by extensive testing of the module as well as training of field formations. On one hand, the online module would save time and resources of the field formations and DGHRD and, on the other, it would ensure real-time compilation of data.
I am also happy to inform you that another long overdue amendment to the Recruitment Rules for the post of Senior Private Secretary (Group ‘B’ Gazetted Ministerial) under CBIC has been notified on 18th August, 2020. These amendments would merge various cadres of Senior Private Secretaries under various directorates into a single cadre and a single Cadre-Controlling Authority i.e. DGPM.
I would like to convey the appreciation of the Board to the teams of officers in various wings of DGHRD and the Board office for continuously bringing improvements in HR and Administration.
On the anti-evasion front, in one of the biggest seizure of antiques in recent times, the Kolkata Customs (Preventive) Commissionerate seized 25 antiques valued at Rs. 35.3 crores. These were being taken to Bangladesh, through the Kaliyaganj border, concealed in a truck-carrying paddy. The antiques comprised of 7 stone idols of Goddess Parvati, Manasha Devi, Lord Vishnu and Lord Sury-a, 7 metallic artefacts made of bronze and octo-alloy (Ashtadhatu) used for casting metallic idols in Hindu and Jain Temples and 11 Terracotta idols, all ranging from 9′ Century AD to 16th Century AD. A significant achievement by the Kolkata team towards our efforts at protecting our national heritage.
The other major cases were made by DRI and DGGI. The DRI (Delhi Zonal Unit), acting on specific intelligence, seized a huge quantity i.e. 83.621 Kgs of Gold valued at Rs. 42.89 crore from carriers coming by Dibrugarh-New Delhi Rajdhani Express at New Delhi Railway station. The seized 504 foreign origin gold bars were concealed in specially tailored cloth vests worn by the carriers. Similarly, DGGI (Bengaluru. Zonal Unit) during their investigation on a multinational entity located at Bengaluru have recovered Rs. 35 crores (Duty plus Interest) relating to their past liabilities on OIDAR services.
The digitisation of physical records and subsequent usage plays an important role in combating tax evasion as well as cross-border crimes. While the DIGIT platform is already in place for the DRI and Customs formations to capture Customs related offences, the DG Systems (Bengaluru Zonal Unit) has come out with an investigation (enforcement) sub-module under the Dispute Settlement and Resolution module of ACESGST application that covers all activities starting from initiation of a case till issuance of the investigation report. The details of all GST enforcement cases initiated against a GSTIN and its position at various stages are accessible to departmental officers on a click of a button. This module is also slated to be rolled out from 1St September 2020.
I congratulate the officers of Kolkata Customs, DRI, DGGI and DG Systems for their successes and wish them all the best in their zeal for safeguarding not only revenue but also in preventing smuggling of contraband and of precious antiques that represent our rich heritage and culture.
The last date for submitting APAR self-appraisal by ‘Officer Reported Upon’ to ‘Reporting Officer’ is 31St August, 2020. As per information from HRM-I, DGHRD in SPARROW-IRS, there are still about 1800 APARs of Group ‘A’ officers for which self-appraisal is yet to be submitted by the concerned officers (as on 30.08.2020). This is a very serious matter, as officers after the due date will forfeit their right to submit their resume. I urge all officers to strictly adhere to the prescribed APAR timelines. The concerned Zonal/Directorate Chiefs may impress upon officers under their jurisdiction to complete the exercise by today positively.
On the last day of the month, I would also like to bid farewell, on behalf of all of you and on my own personal behalf, to Shri Ranjan Kumar Sahoo, Pr. DG, DGoV, who is superannuating after an illustrious career of 33 years of service to the nation. I also extend my best wishes to all other officers and staff who are superannuating today.
On this Onam day, when the mythical and benevolent King Mahabali comes to visit his grateful subjects in Kerala, I extend my best wishes and prayers for good health to all officers and staff.
with best wishes
Yours sincerely
(M. Ajit Kumar)
To,
All Officers and Staff of Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs
