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
Vivek Johri
Chairman
DO No. 43/CH(IC)/2022 | Dated: 27th September, 2022
Dear Colleague,
As an organization, we have had a close association with Salt. The collection of revenue from the production of Salt was brought under a separate Department under the Salt Commissioner in 1876. Subsequently, the Central Excises and Salt Act, 1944 consolidated the laws relating to central duties of Excise and Salt and the Salt Department became a part of the Central Board of Revenue under the Ministry of Finance.
With the Salt duty being abolished in 1947, the Salt Department was transferred to the Ministry of Industry & Supply and subsequently to the Ministry of Works, Production and Supply and eventually to the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Department of Industrial Development.
Recently, a symbolic piece of this history came back to the Department in the form of a 1.88 acre plot of Salt Land at Devanampattinam, Cuddalore, Tamil Nadu for construction of office building and residential quarters for the Cuddalore Division, Tiruchirappalli CGST Commissionerate at the token value of Re. One only! My sincere congratulations to Director General, Directorate General of Human Resource Development (DGHRD) as well as to Principal Chief Commissioner, CGST Chennai Zone and their teams for their persistent efforts.
Further, DGHRD has also forwarded a list of surplus salt land available all over India along with a request to submit proposals as per requirement. I would urge our formations to examine the list and to suitably send proposals for augmenting our infrastructure.
Moving on, in a significant augmentation of our digital infrastructure, the Directorate of System and Data Management has extended the availability of the Directorate General of Analytics & Risk Management (DGARM) IT Application, for sharing actionable information right up to the GST Range Level. Hitherto, the facility was available up to the Division level.
With the introduction of this facility now our Ranges will be able to receive actionable inputs and provide structured, time-bound feedback. Kudos to Pr. Director General, Directorate of System and Data Management as well as Director General, Directorate General of Analytics & Risk Management and their respective teams for their initiative and commitment in rolling out this facility within the stipulated timelines.
The week gone by also saw the launch of the Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) system at Land Customs Station, Old Raghna Bazar, Tripura and Land Customs Station, Sutarkandi, Assam. The launch of the EDI system would not only facilitate trade at the Indo-Bangladesh Border but would also help in making better targeted interventions.
On the anti-smuggling front, last week a joint team of Customs Officers from the Imphal Customs (Preventive) Division and the Special Commando Unit of Manipur Police interdicted a consignment of 2.086 Kg. of Heroin, valued at more than Rs. 4 Crore which was being smuggled concealed in 175 cases of soap.
Last week, the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) also interdicted 394 foreign origin gold bars weighing approximately 65.46 kg and valued at more than Rs. 33 Crore. In an operation code named “Op Gold Rush”, based on specific intelligence that gold was being smuggled in a consignment declared to contain `Personal Goods’, searches at multiple places were carried out which resulted in the recovery of the contraband. My Congratulations to the officers for their diligence and hard work.
Till next week!
Yours Sincerely,
(Vivek Johri)
All Officers and Staff of Central Board of Indirect Taxes & Customs
