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 : vivekjohri.irs@gov.in
08th August, 2022
Chairman
DO No. 36/CH(IC)/2022
Dear Colleague
“Duty, Honour, Country” — three hallowed words that, despite their martial ring, reverently lay out the scale of values for one in public service. They are a rallying point to build courage when courage seems to fail, to regain faith when there seems to be little cause for faith, to create hope when hope becomes forlorn.
Some will say these are mere words, a slogan, or at best a lofty phrase. I disagree. For civil servants, these are words with a magical force and considerable moral heft. They help build our character. They are like a talisman that comes to our rescue in our weak moments; that has the potential to shepherd us back should we, although fleetingly, lose our sense of purpose as civil servants and feel that our personal comfort, interest or aspirations must prevail. Occasions when we experience this are not uncommon, for instance, when we are rotated or transferred either to a new role or to a fresh location that may not be of our choice but is meant to subserve public interest or the organisational interest. Likewise, there are times when we need to take a hard decision to set things right under our watch but we dither for fear of being unpopular. These are precisely the occasions that are the true test of our commitment. We would do well to invoke the three magical words – Duty, Honour, Country- in such moments rather than sulk, complain or procrastinate. I am confident that doing so would ensure that our eventual response to such situations is appropriate.
In recent months, Board has been emphasising the need to cultivate and nurture a data-driven and data-aware work culture in the Department. Many steps have already been taken in this direction by Principal DG (Systems), the ADVAIT team, DGHRD, DGPM and many Zones. In the same vein, last week saw the launch of a number of new Data Science Models, Dashboards and Reports in the Advanced Analytics in Indirect Taxation (ADVAIT) System. The Models harness the power of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning and enable a deep dive into network analytics of flagged taxpayers, detection of circular trade and resultant tax evasion as well as a model for analysis of buyer-exporter/importer-supplier networks. Detailed advisories on the new tools have already been issued and the Directorate General of Systems would be conducting workshops/ town hall sessions to explain the working of these new features, in due course. While I wholeheartedly congratulate the Systems team for making these tools available, I urge you not only to familiarise yourselves with these but also to actively use the pre-existing ADVAIT suite.
As a validation of the power of these tools, officers of CGST Commissionerate Alwar, detected a case of fraudulent availment of Input Tax Credit (ITC) in excess of Rs. 5500 Crore in just three months on the basis of analytics. The entire credit has since been reversed. Similarly, CGST Delhi North Commissionerate had detected a case involving availment and utilization of inadmissible Input Tax Credit (ITC) of more than Rs. 53 Crore without the receipt of services. A recovery of Rs. 5 Crore was made last week taking the total recoveries in excess of Rs. 15 Crore in the case. Further, CGST Delhi West Commissionerate also detected cases of ineligible/inadmissible ITC in excess of Rs. 102 Crore. My Congratulations to the respective teams for an excellent job.
The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) detected a case of evasion of Customs duty by resorting to wilful mis-declaration in the description of certain items imported for use in the manufacture of mobile phones. The mis-declaration resulted in wrongful availment of ineligible duty exemption benefits amounting to more than Rs. 2,217 Crore. Last week, the investigations were concluded and a Show Cause Notice has been issued. A sum of Rs. 60 Crore has been recovered in the case.
Moving on, last week saw the Central Revenues Control Laboratories (CRCL) enter into a fresh Memorandum of Understanding with the Indian Institute of Chemical Technology (IICT) for the training of about 200 officers from CRCL in instrumental analysis and techniques. This will go a long way in enhancing our material testing capabilities and will further equip our officers in the latest techniques (dry testing) and developments in the field. I thank Director (Revenues Laboratories) for having taken this initiative.
The disposal of seized and unserviceable items is an important item of work which at times gets relegated in priority. However, for effective and economical management of our assets it is important that we undertake a periodic review of our inventories and suitably process items ripe for disposal. A report received from Customs (Preventive) Zone, Tiruchirappalli in the week gone by shows that with their assiduous efforts during the last one year the Zone has managed to dispose of more than 125 marine vessels seized over the last 30 years. My sincere commendation to the Chief Commissioner and his team.
Before I sign off for the week, I would like to share that Mumbai Zone I has come up with a new initiative called “Samvad se Samadhan Tak” wherein grievances raised by importers/ exporters would be taken up for resolution at monthly meetings of Commissioners. The program was launched by the Zonal Member last week. I wish it success.
Till next week!
Yours Sincerely,
(Vivek Johri)
All Officers and Staff of Central Board of Indirect Taxes & Customs
