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. 59/CH(IC)/2022
18th January, 2023
A promotion is an occasion for celebration for us all. It not only fulfills our aspirational goals but also acknowledges that our performance has been above par and that we are ready to shoulder higher responsibilities. Behind each promotion order there is tremendous hard work by the Human Resources team – vacancies are to be calculated; eligibility of officers checked; reckonable APARs along with checklists, personal particulars, APAR abstracts collated; vigilance status and assessment sheets prepared. For each DPC candidate about 20 or more individual documents may be required.
In addition, notes for the DPC are to be prepared; its meeting convened, minutes drawn and approval of the competent authority taken. Last week, the tireless efforts of the Directorate General of Human Resource Development (DGHRD) and the Administration Wing of the Board bore fruit when an order promoting 1107 officers to the Grade of Assistant Commissioners of Customs 86 Indirect Taxes was issued. My heartiest congratulations and best wishes to those of you who have been promoted.
I would also like to place on record my sincere appreciation for Member (Administration 86 Vigilance), Pr. Director General (Human Resource Development) and their respective teams for their painstaking hard work over a number of months to this end. Keep up the good work and keep spreading the joy.
As we move towards a more digital work environment, so are the tax evaders and the delinquent. Therefore, bolstering our digital forensics and investigation capabilities is an important and ongoing endeavor. In this process, last week, requisite approvals were received for setting up of five digital forensic laboratories in the Directorate General of GST Intelligence (DGGI).
With deep penetration of Information Technology, adoption of automated Accounting Systems and proliferation of devices on which data may be stored by businesses, it is imperative for us to have the requisite physical infrastructure, skill sets, know-how and ability to be able to access data from those systems/devices and to be able to de-encrypt, decipher and, at times, even de-bug it for carrying out investigations. Setting up such laboratories in-house would address this need and lend a firmer footing to our investigations.
Last week, Hon’ble Minister of State (Finance), Sh. Pankaj Chaudhary inaugurated the Valmikinagar Land Customs Station on the India-Nepal Border. On the occasion, Hon’ble Minister of State also launched the Customs Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) at the Land Customs Station. The initiative would to give a further fillip to cross-border trade in the region.
On the anti-evasion front it was a busy week. Officers of Shillong Customs (Preventive) Commissionerate seized 255 kg. of Ganja (Cannabis) valued at about Rs. 38 Lakhs from dense jungles on the international borders in Sepahijala and West Tripura Districts in Tripura. Further, officers of Guwahati Customs Division of the Shillong Customs (Preventive) Commissionerate also seized 3 kgs. of Morphine estimated to be worth over Rs. 15 Crores.
In yet another excellent detection, Mumbai Airport Customs interdicted an arriving passenger found to be carrying 2.81 kg. Cocaine valued at over Rs 28 Crore. Kudos to the officers for excellent detections.
Till next week!
Yours Sincerely,
(Vivek Johri)
All Officers and Staff of Central Board of Indirect Taxes & Customs
