" IRS OFFICERS PROMOTED FROM THE GRADE OF SUPERINTENDENT OF CENTRAL EXCISE ARE ALSO MEMBERS OF AIACEGEO. THIS IS THE ONLY ASSOCIATION FOR SUPERINTENDENTS OF CENTRAL EXCISE AND IRS OFFICERS PROMOTED FROM THE GRADE OF SUPERINTENDENT OF CENTRAL EXCISE THROUGH OUT THE COUNTRY . President Mr.T.Dass and SG Mr. Harpal Singh.

Saturday 31 March 2018

Revival of in-situ promotion scheme


ALL INDIA ASSOCIATION OF CENTRAL EXCISE
GAZETTED EXECUTIVE OFFICERS
President:                                          Address for communication:                                       Secretary General:
A. Venkatesh                             240, Razapur, Ghaziabad-201001 (U.P.)                                              Ravi Malik
Mob.7780255361       mail Id:ravimalik_sweet@yahoo.com, Site: cengoindia.blogspot.in      Mob.9868816290
Vice Presidents: Apurba Roy, P. C. Jha (East); A. K. Meena, Somnath Chakrabarty (west); Ashish Vajpayee, Ravi Joshi (North); B. Pavan K. Reddy (South); K.V. Sriniwas, T. J. Manojuman (Central) Joint Secretaries: Ajay Kumar, R. N. Mahapatra (East); B. S. Meena, Sanjeev Sahai (West); Harpal Singh, Sanjay Srivastava (North); M. Nagraju, P. Sravan Kumar (South); Anand Kishore, Ashutosh Nivsarkar (Central)
Office Secretary: C. S. Sharma Treasuer: N. R. Manda Organising Secretary: Soumen Bhattachariya
(Recognised by G.O.I., Min. of Fin. vide letter F.No. B. 12017/10/2006-Ad.IV A Dt.21.01.08)
Ref. No. 90/AIB/P/18                                                                          Dt. 31.03.18
To,
Ms. Vanaja N. Sarna,
Chairperson, CBEC,
North Block, New Delhi.
Sub: Revival of in-situ promotion scheme as approved in Board meeting of 18.02.11.
Madam,
            Your kind attention is invited to the point No. 3.      under the heading of Presentation No. 02 by ADG (HRM) on the issue of In-situ Promotion Scheme for Group ‘B’ Executive Cadres (Gazetted and Non-Gazetted) of the minutes of the Board meeting of 18.02.11 (enclosed herewith).
            2. As your goodself knows, it is to submit with due regards that not only the most of our officers are retiring with single promotion in the career after joining as Inspector but there are also disparities in promotions from zone to zone. No need to say that the temporary posts of Asstt. Commissioner with the clause of no further promotion are unable to do the required good to the problem. On pursuance by the Association, one in-situ promotion scheme was approved by the Board in the meeting of 18.02.11. Basic features of the scheme were as under:
i) In situ promotion to the Inspector with 10 years of regular service as Superintendent (in situ).
ii) In situ promotion to the Superintendents with 20 years of combined regular or in situ service as Inspector+Superintendent (in situ), with three years service as Superintendent (regular or in situ) as Assistant Commissioner (in situ).
iii) In situ  promotion  as Deputy Commissioner (in situ) to Assistant Commissioner (in situ)  after five years of service.
            3. However, the Association suggested service of total 24 years of service for the post of Deputy Commissioner without any clause of five years of service as Assistant Commissioner (in situ).
            4. In view of above, it is requested to kindly implement the said scheme (as already approved by the Board) as an instant measure to cope up the problem of the acute stagnation being faced by our officers for decades. It is also requested to implement the said scheme w.e.f. its approval, i.e., 18.02.11 and some other scheme may also kindly be formulated to enable our officers entering Level-13 and above like the counterparts of CBDT, CSS etc.
            Thanking you.
Yours faithfully,
Encl: As above.


(RAVI MALIK),
Secretary General.
Minutes of the Board Meeting held on February 18, 2011

The Board in its Meeting chaired by Shri S. Dutt Majumder, deliberated on the issues detailed herein.  The following officers were present.

Shri Y.G. Parande, Member (Budget & Comp.)
Shri S.K. Goel, Member (Customs, RI&I, Exports & Safeguards)
Ms Vijai Lakshmi Sharma, Member (ST)
Ms Lalitha John, Member (P&V)
Shri Rajesh Dhingra, Member (L&J)
Ms Sandhya Baliga, DG (HRD)
Shri M.S. Arora, ADG(HRM)
Shri Ajay Jain, Commissioner (CX)
Ms Neeta Lall Butalia, Commissioner (DPPR)
Shri Lok Ranjan, JS (Admn)
Shri Neerav Kumar Mallick, Addl. Director (HRD)
Shri Alok Jha, Addl. Commissioner (DPPR)
Shri Samanjasa Das, OSD (CX.9)

2.       Presentation No.01 by ADG(HRM).

Issue in brief : Revised “Cadre Restructuring” Proposal.

2.1     Chairman, CBEC, apprised the Board Members that the previous cadre restructuring proposal was shared with the  staff associations/ federations and their suggestions have been received. These have been taken into account and a revised cadre restructuring proposal has been prepared. Thereafter, a presentation was made by ADG(HRM) to the Board on the revised cadre restructuring proposal.

2.2     The Board was informed that since the year 2002-03 when the last cadre restructuring took place the total revenue collection has trebled. Chairman, at this juncture, intimated that total revenue collection during the current fiscal is likely to cross the budgetary estimates of Rs. 3.15 lakh crore and the revised estimate is Rs. 3.34 lakh crore. The workload in terms of assessee-base, number of Customs documents handled, number of international passengers etc. has also increased significantly. The revenue collection and the workload are likely to increase further by the year 2014-15.

2.3     The Board was informed that the officers of IRS (C&CE) lag behind their counterparts in other Central Services in terms of promotional avenues, and consequently the officers with 22 years of service, as against required 17 years as per DOP&T norms, still await promotion to Senior Administrative Grade. Similarly, officers with 33 years of service have not yet received promotion to the HAG.  In some of the Central Services, the officers with 25 years of service have reached HAG level. Further, there are no encadred posts at HAG+ and above levels in the CBEC, while other analogous services have. In Group ‘B’ also, there is alarming situation of stagnation as the executive officers normally get only one functional promotion during average service span of 35 years. The problems faced by other staff  cadres in career progression were also highlighted.

2.4     The Board was apprised that on the basis of the workload and revenue collection of existing Central Excise Zones during the year 2009-10 and projections for 2010-11, the cadre restructuring proposal envisaged reorganization of existing 23 Central Excise Zones and 93 CE & 7 ST Commissionerates into 39 Central Excise & 6 Service Tax Zones and 119 Central Excise & 22 Service Tax Commissionerates. Similarly, on Customs side existing 11 Customs Zones and 35 Customs & Customs (P) Commissionerates were proposed to be reorganized into 20 Customs & Customs (P) Zones and 60   Customs & Customs (P) Commissionerates. The Board was also apprised about the proposal for strengthening the existing Directorates and  creation of new  Directorates of Tax Arrears Recovery and International Customs.

2.5     The key changes that have been made in the cadre restructuring proposal which include the demands / suggestions of the officers and staff associations are given below.
       Increase in the proposed strength at Apex Scale, HAG+ & HAG
       Increase in proposed strength at CAO /AO grades
       No abolition of DOS/ STA  posts
       Merger of Assistant Programmers (erstwhile DEO Grade-D) with Ministerial grades
       Enhancement of promotional avenues for Sepoys / Havaldars
The Board  was informed that the demand of the Associations / federations regarding filling up of all the cadre restructuring vacancies by promotions only can be accepted  for all the grades barring the grade of Inspector, in which such vacancies would be much more than the present total working strength of the feeder grades. The Board was also informed that the grades of Programmer and Assistant Programmer which are lying vacant were also proposed to be abolished.  The following changes in the strength at various levels were proposed to be made in the Cadre restructuring Proposal 2010:

  IRS (C&CE)
Sl. No.
Grade
Pre-revised Proposal
Revised Proposal
Difference
1
Apex Scale
18
23
5
2
HAG+
77
72
-5
3
HAG
100
125
25
4
SAG
365
340
-25
Stenographers Grades
5
Sr. PS Grade-I
18
23
5
6
Sr. P.S. Grade-II
77
72
-5
7
PS Grade-I
100
125
25
8
PS Grade-II
365
340
-25
Ministerial Grades
9
CAO
221
349
128
10
AO
1564
2070
506
11
STA
4077
4850
773
Sepoy / Havaldar / Head Havldar Cadre
12
ASI Grade-I
0
1198
1198
13
ASI Grade-II
0
2396
2396
14
Head Havaldar
3173
4117
944
15
Havaldar
14375
8690
-5685
Total

17548
16401
-1147

2.6     The Board was informed that after making the aforesaid changes, the total staff strength envisaged in the cadre restructuring proposal was 95168.

2.7     During the discussion, the shortage of working strength in Stenographer cadre was highlighted and it was suggested that in case of supply constraints, it may be examined independent of cadre restructuring if the employees of other grades having computer skills can also be deployed  in these posts.

2.8     As regards entry level of IRS (C&CE), it was suggested that the direct recruitment to JTS should be limited to the extent that  there was no stagnation in the cadre as well as no shortage of officers for promotion to the higher grades in later years. Since majority of the promotee ssistant Commissioners would  superannuate in next 2-3 years, a large number   vacancies at JTS were likely to be created , and filling up of 50% of those vacancies by direct recruitment, as provided in the recruitment rules,  would cause stagnation at a later stage. At this stage, the Board was informed about the recent DOP&T circular removing the limit of per annum direct recruitment of minimum 3%  of cadre strength   in Group ‘A’ services.

2.9     It was suggested that the proposed Commissioners (Cadre Control) should be given more powers. It was also suggested that there should not be any increase in the strength of Drivers, as the Government is not permitting purchase of new vehicles. However, the Board directed that there should not be any abolition of the posts of Driver from DGRI and DGCEI.

2.10   The Board expressed concern that the Guwahati  CE Commissionerate had not been provided the staff strength at the time of creation. The Board was informed that the staffing requirements of the Guwahati Commissionerate have been taken into account in the Cadre Restructuring Proposal.

2.11   The Board approved in principle the proposed changes in the cadre restructuring proposal, 2010, and directed DGHRD to submit the revised proposal by 1st March, 2011.
[Action: DG (HRD)]

3.       Presentation No.02  by ADG (HRM)

Issue in brief : In-situ Promotion Scheme for Group ‘B’ Executive Cadres (Gazetted and Non-Gazetted)

3.1     The Chairman, CBEC, gave a brief overview of the acute stagnation being faced by the executive cadres, particularly Central Excise and Customs Preventive streams, and highlighted the urgency to address the issue. In his presentation, ADG (HRM) briefly highlighted the problem of stagnation being faced by two of the three executive cadres (viz. Central Excise and Customs Preventive streams). It was stated that Group ‘B’ Executive grades (Inspector & Superintendent grade officers) constitute 47% of total Staff Strength, of which CE stream constitutes 85.5% and Customs Preventive stream 10.6%,while Appraising cadre only 3.76%. However, majority of the Inspectors of  Central  Excise & Customs Preventive Officers get only one functional promotion during average service span of 35 years, while Examiners are much better placed and reach up to the level of Additional Commissioner. It was informed that 1992 batch Examiner and 1975 batch Inspector CE & Preventive Officer have been promoted as Assistant Commissioner at the same time in October, 2010.
3.2     The reasons for stagnation include limited number of promotion quota posts at Assistant Commissioner (currently around 200 per annum), fragmentation  of Group ‘B’ Executive Cadres into three streams, further fragmentation of these cadres into Zonal / Commissionerate-based cadres, no co-relation of the existing ratio for promotion to Group ‘A’ (6 CE : 1 Cus. Prev. :  2 Appraising) with the sanctioned strength of the three Executive Cadres etc. For addressing the said problem of stagnation, following three initiatives were identified:
              Revision of ratio for promotion on the basis of cadre strength of the three feeder streams
              Grant of in situ  promotions to the officers of the stagnated cadres
              Promotion to JTS on the basis of the base-cadre seniority.
As regards revision of ratio for promotion to the grade of Assistant Commissioner on the basis of the cadre strength of the three feeder streams, the Board was informed that the ratio worked out to 15 for Central Excise, 2 for Customs Preventive and 1 for Appraising stream. However, even though revision of ratio would make distribution of promotion quota vacancies at Asst. Commissioner level more equitable, it would not have much effect on reduction of stagnation in executive cadres, due to limited number of annual promotion quota vacancies (currently average 200 per annum) at Assistant Commissioner level. It was emphasized that despite its limitations, the ratio needed to be revised.

3.3     Thereafter, the remaining two proposals, namely, grant of in situ promotions and  promotions on the basis of base-cadre seniority, were presented in detail.
Basic features of the proposed in situ promotion scheme were detailed as under:
       In situ promotion to the Inspector with 10 years of regular service as Superintendent (in situ)
        In situ promotion to the Superintendents  with 20 years of combined regular or in situ service as Inspector + Superintendent (in situ), with three years service as Superintendent (regular or In situ) as Assistant Commissioner (in situ)
       In situ  promotion  as Dy. Commissioner (in situ) to Assistant Commissioner (in situ)  after five years of service.
       Reserve category officers continue to enjoy benefits in promotion by special formulation.

3.4     It was stated that the scheme does not require creation of posts in Superintendent  or  Assistant Commissioner grades, as the posts of Superintendent (in situ), Assistant Commissioner (in situ)  and Dy. Commissioner (in situ)  are operated against the regular sanctioned strength in the grades of Inspector and Superintendent respectively. Further, the Scheme would not have any functional problems since the officers would get in situ promotion in their personal capacity and continue to perform the duties of the lower grade. However, there would be a large number of officers with the designation of Assistant Commissioner and the possibility of demand for regularization of in situ promotions at a later stage.

3.5     Under the other proposal, the promotions to Junior Time Scale of Group ‘A’ are proposed to be granted on the basis of the date of regular appointment in the grade of Inspector, making the date of promotion to Superintendent grade irrelevant. In this  proposal there would be no need to have quota for three feeder streams  for promotion  to Assistant Commissioner, as all direct recruit / regular promotee Inspectors in  one particular year would be  promoted to JTS in Group ‘A’ at the same time.

3.6     The Board was also apprised the position in the other departments under the Government of India.  It was informed that the in situ promotions have been granted in many other departments under Government of  India , such as Central Secretariat  Service, Rajya Sabha Secretariat, Ministry of Health etc.

3.7     It was suggested to the Board that the scheme for grant of in situ promotions  was preferable as it would provide immediate relief to the stagnating grades. In this context, it was brought to the notice of the Board that the DOP&T had informed that there were no specific guidelines for granting in situ promotions and that since MACP  scheme was in force, the in situ promotion scheme could not be used. The Officers  in Rajya Sabha Secretariat  informed that since the in situ  promotion scheme was working, MACP scheme was not used in their department. The Board was apprised that after implementation of in situ promotion scheme, the MACP scheme would automatically become redundant .

3.8     The Board approved, in principle, the Scheme for grant of in situ promotions to the Group ‘B’ Executive officers. The Board created a Group comprising the Member (Budget), Member (P&V), DG (HRD), Joint Secretary (Administration) and ADG (HRM) to work out the modalities of the In situ Promotion Scheme.  The Group will submit their recommendation by 31.3.11.
 [Action: JS (Admn) & DG (HRD)].

4.       Presentation No.03  by Commissioner (DPPR)
Issue in brief : Rough Cut of Documentary on Central Excise.
4.1     The rough-cut of a documentary film on Central Excise was screened by Commissioner (DPPR) and the Board suggested certain improvements therein.
[Action: Commr (DPPR)]