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]
09th January, 2023
Vivek Johri, Chairman
DO No. 58/CH(IC)/2022
Dear Colleague,
As the January chill sets in and brings to close the holiday season, it is time for us to hunker down and to re-focus on our key areas of work – Revenue Collection, Adjudication, Disposal of Seized Gold, Completion of pending Investigations and Audit. Zonal Chiefs may like to monitor progress in these areas so as to ensure that we spare no effort, there are no slippages and we end the financial year on a high note.
The Directorate General of Performance Management has already communicated data regarding the trends in performance of various formations. Zonal Chiefs may like to examine the same and take suitable next steps.
Moving on, in a short span of time, Advanced Analytics in Indirect Taxation (ADVAIT) has become the foremost arrow in our quiver of analytical tools. The Directorate General of Systems and Data Management has been consistently engaging with field formations to understand their requirements and to encourage the use of the tool.
The ADVAIT Hackathon is one such endeavor. The second iteration of the event is scheduled for the 9th/ 10th of February. I would encourage you to send in your proposals for participation in the event. This is an opportunity for our officers to apply themselves to serious problem-solving by pooling their IT skills, analytical skills and knowledge of law & procedure.
Continuing with its endeavor to promote data-driven decision making, Team ADVAIT launched a new suite of GST reports, last week. The reports include enhanced analysis of taxpayer performance as well as analysis of input tax credit. A new package featuring a number of new and improved functionalities has also been made available for assessing the performance of Faceless Assessment Groups (FAG) and Port Assessment Groups (PAG). Further, the ADVAIT workbook has been integrated with the portal with hyperlinked reports for ease of navigation. I encourage officers to make use of these resources and communicate their feedback to the Team ADVAIT.
Moving on, the Digital India Programme was envisioned to transform India into a digitally empowered society and a knowledge economy. To that end, the Digital India Awards seek to encourage and honour innovative digital initiatives by Government entities at all levels. The week gone by saw, the President of India, Smt. Droupadi Murmu, confer the Digital India Awards 2022 on the winners.
I am happy to share that the Platinum Award in the Public Digital Platforms category for Central Ministries, Departments and States was bagged by the ICEGATE Portal of the Department. The award honours excellence in design and implementation of a Public Digital Platform with wide scale coverage and having high impact in the society. My sincere congratulations to Pr. Director General, Directorate General of Systems and Data Management and his entire team for their hard work and dedication.
With the objective of developing a long term view of infrastructure requirements for our field formations, the Directorate General of Human Resource Development (DGHRD) is preparing a Five Year Infrastructure Plan (2023-2027), called “Buniyaad”. The plan is intended to serve as the basis for taking up infrastructure proposals for approval from the competent authority and for formulation of budget estimates etc. I would like to request Zonal Chiefs and Directorates to forward their plans to DGHRD will in time so as to enable timely processing of the same.
Similarly, shoring up Departmental capacities in firearms and ammunition, the Directorate of Logistics has been tasked with ascertaining the requirements of the field formations as per prescribed norms. Field formations should take stock of the same and report their requirements to the Directorate at the earliest.
On the enforcement side, the week gone by saw Mumbai Airport Customs continue their drive against smuggling of drugs and narcotics, with yet another seizure of 4.47 kg Heroin & 1.596 kg Cocaine cumulatively valued at in excess of Rs. 47 Crore.
Further, the officers of Customs (Preventive) Commissionerate, Vijayawada interdicted a consignment of over 30,00,000 foreign origin Cigarette sticks, believed to have been smuggled and valued at over Rs. 3 Crore concealed in a vehicle carrying bags of flour. Kudos to the officers for their excellent work.
I would like to share that Shri Dhirendra Singh Garbyal, Commissioner of Customs, Mumbai Zone-II representing the Regional Sports Board, Mumbai secured the Bronze Medal in 4×100 m Medley Relay in the Open Category at the All India Civil Services Swimming Tournament held at Delhi. Many Congratulations, Dhirendra!
Before I sign off for the week, I am simply overwhelmed by the large number of personal New Year Greetings that I have received from colleagues. I whole heartedly reciprocate the same and apologize for not being able to respond to you individually.
Till next week!
Yours Sincerely,
(Vivek Johri)
All Officers and Staff of Central Board of Indirect Taxes & Customs
