Introduction: Chairman Sanjay Kumar Agarwal’s weekly newsletter from the Central Board of Indirect Taxes & Customs (CBIC) offers a glimpse into the latest developments, commendable fieldwork, and important decisions within the organization.
Detailed Analysis:
52nd GST Council Meeting: The newsletter begins by acknowledging the productive 52nd GST Council meeting that took place the previous week. The meeting highlighted active engagement by honorable members and resulted in important decisions that promote trade facilitation and provide clarity on long-pending issues. These decisions reflect the spirit of cooperative federalism and play a crucial role in shaping India’s indirect tax landscape.
Swachhata Awards for 2022-23: Sanjay Kumar Agarwal commends the field formations for their excellent work on Swachhata Projects during 2022-23. The Swachhata Awards, recognizing these efforts, have been finalized, and three prominent entities have taken top honors: CGST Meerut Zone, Mumbai-I Customs Zone, and CESTAT. Their success is attributed to their high rankings in social and behavioral impact, timely report submissions, and optimal budget utilization. The chairman extends his congratulations to their teams and highlights the importance of commitment to cleanliness and sustainability in offices.
Special Campaign for Disposal of Pending Matters: The newsletter discusses the ongoing Special Campaign for Disposal of Pending Matters (SCDPM). Chairman Sanjay Kumar Agarwal is actively tracking the progress made in liquidating pendency in VIP references, addressing public grievances, and streamlining rules and processes. Several formations are taking proactive steps to optimize office space utilization, enhancing the workplace experience for all. Ludhiana Customs’ special efforts in office building cleanup and e-waste segregation are recognized and praised.
Impressive Seizures and Investigations: The vigilance of Customs officers at ICD Patparganj led to the seizure of 18 metric tonnes of illegally imported poppy seeds disguised as plastics and paper rolls. On the GST side, DGGI Gurugram Zonal Unit’s rigorous IP address analysis resulted in apprehending a Chartered Accountant involved in managing approximately 270 fake entities that fraudulently availed Input Tax Credit amounting to Rs. 140 Crore. These achievements demonstrate the commitment and effectiveness of the CBIC team.
Highlighting Heritage: The newsletter takes a detour to acknowledge the creative talents of one CBIC officer, Shri Atul Kumar Tirkey. While posted in Amritsar Customs, he utilized his writing skills to script a documentary titled “Attari Junction – A 161 year-old historic railway station.” This serves as a shining example of how the CBIC team contributes to showcasing India’s rich heritage.
Conclusion: Chairman Sanjay Kumar Agarwal concludes the newsletter, expressing his delight in the field formations’ accomplishments, investigations, and creativity. He looks forward to the next week and the continuous dedication of the Central Board of Indirect Taxes & Customs.
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Weekly newsletter from Chairman, CBIC dated 10.10.2023
Government of India
Ministry of Finance
Department of Revenue
Central Board of Indirect Taxes & Customs
Sanjay Kumar Agarwal, Chairman
DO No. 10/News Letter/CH(IC)/2023 Dated: 10th October, 2023
Dear Colleagues,
As you all are aware, the 52nd meeting of the GST Council took place last week. The meeting was productive and witnessed active engagement by the Hon’ble members leading to some important decisions being taken towards trade facilitation as well as bringing clarity on some long pending issues in the spirit of cooperative federalism.
Recognizing the good work done by the field formations with respect to Swachhata Projects during 2022-23, the Swachhata Awards were finalized last week. Although the efforts of all the Zones and Directorates are praiseworthy, CGST Meerut Zone, Mumbai-I Customs Zone, and CESTAT have grabbed the top spots, primarily due to their high rankings in social and behavioural impact, timely report submissions, and optimal budget utilization. I congratulate their teams who saw the projects to the conclusion. In order to encourage the field formations to continue their commitment towards swachhata, the recipients of awards in the Special category awards in the activities leading to cleaner and greener offices, clean drinking water in community places, and wet waste management amongst others, also deserve a pat on their backs.
Since the Special Campaign for Disposal of Pending Matters (SCDPM) is underway, I am tracking through social media the work being undertaken by all of you. The idea is to liquidate pendency in VIP references, public grievances and easing of rules/ processes during this campaign. I can see that some formations are also proactively working to optimize space utilization and enhance the overall workplace experience within field offices. Ludhiana Customs made special efforts to clean up the office building and in this process, segregated 237 Kg of old e-waste for disposal. Fantastic job!
The vigil of the Customs officers at ICD Patparganj led to the seizure of 18 metric tonnes of poppy seed being illegally imported in the guise of plastics and paper rolls. On the GST side, DGGI Gurugram. Zonal Unit developed intelligence through rigorous IP address analysis and apprehended a Chartered Accountant involved in managing about 270 fake entities which have fraudulently availed Input Tax Credit to the tune of Rs. 140 Crore. Bravo!
On a slightly different note, I am delighted to know that one of our officers, Shri Atul Kumar Tirkey, who was posted in Amritsar Customs wielded his pen to showcase the strategic importance of Attari junction. His work has culminated into the script of a documentary titled “Attari Junction – A 161 year-old historic railway station”. Kudos to your talent and using it to highlight the heritage of Attari.
See you again next week!
Yours sincerely,
(Sanjay Kumar Agarwal)
All Officers and Staff of the Central Board of Indirect Taxes 86 Customs
