Government of India
Ministry of Finance
Department of Revenue
Central Board of Indirect Taxes & Customs
North Block, New Delhi-110 001
Tel. : +91-11-23092849, Fax : +91-11-23092890
E-mail : [email protected]
DO No. 35/CH(IC)/2022
01st August, 2022
Affronted at the suggestion of an artist friend that the scientist “takes apart” a flower and renders it “a dull thing,” the celebrated physicist Richard Feynman is said to have responded, that the scientist’s appreciation of a flower goes beyond its mere beauty. He sees much more. He imagines the cells, the complex interactions of the constituent elements, down to the ordering of atoms, all of which have an allure of their own.
Big or small, beauty exists in all dimensions. Fragrances, arrangement of petals and their colors, have all evolved in order to attract insects. It is this knowledge of materials and the inner working of their nature that adds to the excitement, mystery and the awe of a flower.
Amongst the sciences, Chemistry sits at the confluence of the practical and the sublime. It is all around us, in dyes that clothe us, in our perfumes, in the medicines that relieve our ailments and in the tiny slices of high-tech semiconducting alloys in our devices. It is difficult remain inert to the charms of Chemistry!
The examination of the nature and character of materials perhaps lies at the core of all Customs & Excise assessment as well as in drug enforcement. Recognizing the vital role of Chemical Laboratories, the first Departmental Chemical Laboratory was set in Kasauli in 1918. Subsequently, laboratories were set up in Kolkata, Mumbai & Chennai. In 1939 the Central Revenues Control Laboratory (CRCL) was set up at Delhi and the erstwhile Special Adviser to Central Board of Revenue was re-designated as Chief Chemist, Central Revenues and subsequently as Director (Revenues Laboratories) in 1999. Our laboratories have travelled a long way since then with several receiving National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories (NABL) accreditation in the recent past.
Last week, yet another feather was added to this rich history with the Customs & Central Excise Laboratory, Vadodara being recognized by the Ministry of Environment & Forests as an Environmental Laboratory under the provisions of the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986. Thus, the Vadodara laboratory has become the first Revenue Laboratory to be so recognized. Heartiest Congratulations to all our Departmental chemists and to Director (Revenues Laboratories) for their hard work.
Last month saw GST revenue collections of Rs. 1,48,995 Crore. This is 28% higher than the corresponding period last year. The growth in GST revenue upto the month of July, 2022 has shown remarkable buoyancy and is about 35% higher as compared to the same period last year. We must continue with our efforts to shore up even higher revenue in the coming months.
The week gone by also saw the promotion of five officers of the 1988 Batch as Principal Chief Commissioners/Principal Directors General (Apex Scale). Many Congratulations to all the officers and best wishes for all their future assignments.
Farewells are always bittersweet. Particularly, when they happen to be of colleagues one has worked with for decades. The English poet Walter Savage Landor captured the feeling perfectly in the following lines,
Why, why repine, my pensive friend; At pleasures slipt away? Some the stern Fates will never lend; And all refuse to stay.
With folded arms I linger not; To call them back; ’twere vain; In this, or in some other spot, I know they’ll shine again.
It was indeed a bittersweet moment as we bid farewell to Sh. D. P. Nagendra Kumar, Member, CBIC – an outstanding officer and an inspirational leader who superannuated after putting in 37 years of exceptional service. We also bid adieu to our colleagues, Sh. Suresh Kishnani, Principal Chief Commissioner and Sh. Naresh Penumaka, Chief Commissioner on their superannuation, last week. Wishing them all the best for all their future endeavors.
Till next week!
Yours Sincerely,
(Vivek Johri)
All Officers and Staff of Central Board of Indirect Taxes & Customs
