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
13th September, 2022
Chairman
DO No. 41/CH(IC)/2022
These lines from Shivmangal Singh Suman’s celebrated poem [with a slight poetic twist] formed a part of the inauguration program of Wartavya Path’ in Delhi last week. The lines resonate with rich meaning especially for all of us in public service.
No matter what the circumstances, we ought to remain steadfast and true to our duty and responsibilities as individuals forming a very small fraction of the vast “system” in which we serve, there are times when the best of us would doubt whether our contribution amounts to much or our role is important enough. But we must remember that the “system” is only as strong as its weakest link. Hence the need for each one of us to persist imbued with a spirit of duty and commitment.
Being the middle of the year, the month of September is the time to refocus on our duties. It opened with a very fruitful interaction with Commissionerates in charge of GST Audits from across the country. I was very heartened to see that the wheels of GST audit are now turning; the team leaders are enthusiastic and eager to deliver results with some of them ready with innovative solutions to reduce drudgery and strengthen oversight.
While the team of the Directorate of Systems & Data Management at Bengaluru deserves credit for developing the Audit Module – a workflow based solution to GST Audits, it is the team of GST (Audit) Commissionerate, Thane that merits a special mention for developing a very user friendly and wholesome web-based tool for monitoring the progress of Audits, end-to-end along with a dashboard and generation of a Management Information System (MIS) and even Audit Paras.
I sincerely thank Member (Compliance Management) and Director General (Audit) and her team for not only organizing the meeting but also for a very insightful presentation, rich with data that helped all of us focus on the key concerns and on the possible way forward.
Moving on, last week saw the flagging off of the first export shipment under Digital-TIR [Transports Internationaux Routiers – International Road Transports] from Nhava Sheva, destined to Moscow via the Astar Port in Iran. The Digital-TIR initiative under the aegis of UN-TIR Convention, will help reduce transaction cost for exports and facilitate paperless movement of cargo across international borders. My heartiest congratulations to all the stakeholders for their excellent initiative.
A high level delegation from Nepal Customs headed by Director General Mr Kamal Prasad Bhattarai visited us last week. The delegation visited ICD Tughlakabad (Import) for a briefing on the trade facilitation initiatives of Indian Customs and measures to help Nepal in further developing their ICDs.
On the anti-smuggling front, acting on specific intelligence, officers of the Commissionerate of Customs (Airport & ACC), Kolkata intercepted a departing passenger carrying undeclared foreign currency worth about USD 11.87 lakh [Rs. 9.34 Crore]. Such cases underscore the vital role that Customs plays in ensuring financial security. Kudos to the officers for a job well done.
Last week also saw officers from the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) and the Anti-Terrorism Squad of the Gujarat Police, detect 72 hidden packets weighing 39.5 kg of heroin concealed in a container at Kolkata port. The container was declared to contain Heavy Melting Scrap however examination revealed the concealment of plastic packets containing narcotic substances in specially created cavities in old and used gearboxes.
Before I close out for the week, I would like to share about an interesting initiative taken by the Tiruchirapalli Customs (Preventive) Zone. Officers of the zone have pledged to endeavor to reduce their electricity consumption by 20% and to reduce the use of paper by 90%. This is a novel initiative and would not only save resources but is also an affirmation of our commitment to the environment.
Till next week!
Yours Sincerely,
(Vivek Johri)
All Officers and Staff of Central Board of Indirect Taxes & Customs
