" 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.

Monday, 6 January 2025

DPC for the post of AC

 

ALL INDIA ASSOCIATION OF CENTRAL TAX

GAZETTED EXECUTIVE OFFICERS

(Earlier known as All India Association of Central Excise Gazetted Executive Officers)

President:                                             Address for communication:                                      Secretary General:

Kajal Kumar Mandal                         Flat No. 6, SE 11, Shastri Nagar, Ghaziabad                           Harpal Singh

Mob. 9957366172       mail Id:aiacegeo2019@gmail.com        Site:cengoindia.blogspot.in       Mob. 9717510598

Chief Patron: Ravi Malik Patrons: A. Venkatesh, C. S. Sharma, M. Nagaraju

Vice Presidents: B C Khatik, K D Venkatraman  (Central) Swapan Kr Das, Subrata Adhikary (East) Ashish Vajpayi, B B Sharma (North) G Srinivas Reddy, G Ananda Sukumar (South) Siddhraj Parmar, Vimal Kishore Soni (West) Joint Secretaries: Manoj Kumar, T J Manojumon (Central) Pradyut Purkayastha, Ashis Maji (East) Rajeev Prakash, Anil Sreedharan (West) Prabhakar Sharma, R B Sahu (North) K Yugandhar Kumar, S M Kosalaya Devi (South); Office Secretary: B C Gupta Treasurer: Manoj Kumar Liaison Secretary: Bhoopesh Organising Secretary: Utkarsh Sharma Legal Coordinator: S Sabarwal Joint Organising Secretary: Jayant Dey East Zone Coordinator: Debasish Modak

(Recognised vide F.No.B-12017/17/2022-AD-IV A dt. 14.07.23 of CBIC, Govt. of India)

Ref. No. 02/AIB/D/24                                                                        Dt. 06.01.25

                                                                                                            IMMEDIATE

To,

The Chairman, CBIC,

North Block, New Delhi.

Sub: DPC for the post of Asstt. Commissioner.

Sir,

            As your goodself is aware that our officers are forced to retire every month without promotion for the want of DPC for the post of Asstt. Commissioner without any fault on their part. Already DPCs for two vacancy years are pending despite of thousands of posts being vacant.

            2. It is unfortunate that no serious efforts seem to be made by the concerned authorities in the matter. Our CBIC doesn’t seem interested to promote our officers as we are told in every meeting by the concerned authorities that the Bombay CAT case is main hurdle in the matter but, unfortunately, no seriousness in the matter is being shown by the CBIC as no effort has been taken to resolve the Bombay CAT issue for the last more than one year.

            3. The DPC can very well be conducted for ad-hoc promotions based on 1988 DOPT OM (already provided to the CBIC authorities including your goodself) in case of any court injunction or seniority matter. In the meeting held with your goodself on 24.10.24, you were pleased to apprise the situation to the Association and you were requested to do the needful in the matter. We were told that the DPC is not being conducted due to a contempt petition against the Revenue Secretary relating to the implementation of the catch-up rule.

            4. To resolve such situation, the CBIC must have given the benefit to the applicants or approached the CAT or High Court seeking permission to convene the DPC, if matter seems not to be resolved soon. DPC could have also been conducted by keeping required number of vacancies unfilled for the applicants (as also happened in the past) to give benefit to the regularly retiring and other due officers. But nothing has been done in the matter and the case is keeping prolonged in routine matter without any worry on the part of the concerned authorities due to the matter perhaps being related to the promotee officers instead of direct recruit IRS officers. In case of the direct recruit IRS officers, the CBIC is always keen even to get relaxations from the nodal departments but nothing such ever happens in the case of the poor promotee officers.

            5. In view of the above, it is requested to kindly take some serious and effective steps on immediate basis to conduct the DPC, so that not a single officer due for promotion is retired unpromoted for the want of DPC.

Thanking you,

     Yours sincerely,

                                                                                                                                                     

(HARPAL SINGH),

Secretary General.

 Copy to the Revenue Secretary with the request for necessary action.    

Thursday, 5 December 2024

Supreme Court MACP case

 MACP case in Supreme Court 

Our today's hearing got adjourned because ours was a part heard matter & 3rd judge(in Bench) was administered oath today.


Hence, CJI said let us not take part-heard matters today.

So,

With mutual consent of ASG & Sr Adv Patwalia, next date is given for Thursday (12th December24).

ASG further said she will be circulating compilation of few more judgments of some HCs, to which court asked to ensure that those are post-Mohanan Nair judgement (of SC).

Thursday, 21 November 2024

MACP CASE IN SUPREME COURT

The matter was deferred to afternoon as Ms Madhavi, ASG  didn’t appear and Ms Aishwarya Bhatti briefed the Court. CJI wanted to hear the matter today and posted it for hearing in afternoon to facilitate Ms Madhavi presence. 

In the afternoon, again Ms Bhatti appeared and read out Government’s stand on counting NFG as financial upgradation under MACP and inadmissibility of 6600 to the respondents. 

Mr. Patwalia, Sr Advocate started the arguments on behalf of respondents. 

He pointed out flaws in the interpretation of scheme by the Government and tried to explain his point on improvement in the MACP scheme vis a vis ACP and admissibility of 6600/- as grade pay scale necessitating long deliberation between the judges. A little after resumption of arguments Bench said enough for the day and posted the matter for 28.11.24.

Thursday, 14 November 2024

Urgent need to recruit Administrative Officers

 

ALL INDIA ASSOCIATION OF CENTRAL TAX

GAZETTED EXECUTIVE OFFICERS

(Earlier known as All India Association of Central Excise Gazetted Executive Officers)

President:                                             Address for communication:                                      Secretary General:

Kajal Kumar Mandal                         Flat No. 6, SE 11, Shastri Nagar, Ghaziabad                           Harpal Singh

Mob. 9957366172       mail Id:aiacegeo2019@gmail.com        Site:cengoindia.blogspot.in       Mob. 9717510598

Chief Patron: Ravi Malik Patrons: A. Venkatesh, C. S. Sharma, M. Nagaraju

Vice Presidents: B C Khatik, K D Venkatraman  (Central) Swapan Kr Das, Subrata Adhikary (East) Ashish Vajpayi, B B Sharma (North) G Srinivas Reddy, G Ananda Sukumar (South) Siddhraj Parmar, Vimal Kishore Soni (West) Joint Secretaries: Manoj Kumar, T J Manojumon (Central) Pradyut Purkayastha, Ashis Maji (East) Rajeev Prakash, Anil Sreedharan (West) Prabhakar Sharma, R B Sahu (North) K Yugandhar Kumar, S M Kosalaya Devi (South); Office Secretary: B C Gupta Treasurer: Manoj Kumar Liaison Secretary: Bhoopesh Organising Secretary: Utkarsh Sharma Legal Coordinator: S Sabarwal Joint Organising Secretary: Jayant Dey East Zone Coordinator: Debasish Modak

(Recognised vide F.No.B-12017/17/2022-AD-IV A dt. 14.07.23 of CBIC, Govt. of India)

Ref. No. 95/AIB/A/24                                                                        Dt. 14.11.24

To,

Sh. Sanjay Kumar Agarwal,

Chairman, CBIC,

North Block, New Delhi.

Sub: Urgent need to recruit Administrative Officers.

Sir,

As you are aware, it is submitted with due regards that the Superintendents do not typically possess the requisite experience or expertise to work as Administrative Officer (DDO). Despite it, they are frequently tasked with the ministerial responsibilities traditionally handled by professionally trained Administrative Officers. This has led to numerous challenges resulting into operational inefficiencies and administrative bottlenecks that hinder smooth functioning within the department. It is a matter of significant concern that is affecting the operational efficiency of the department in the Central Goods and Services Tax (CGST) and Customs formations due to lack of Administrative Officers.

2. This situation has resulted into an increasing workload on Superintendents being expected to carry out complex ministerial functions including human resources management, budgetary control, personnel administration etc. It is expected by the authorities that Superintendents posted to the Admn/Estt/Accounts sections would possess expertise in these areas from the very first day of their assignment. However, such expectations are neither justifiable nor feasible. Due to the lack of formal training or experience in these areas, the Superintendents are often ill-equipped to handle the nuances and intricacies that come with such additional postings. It is also worth to reiterate that the Superintendents are recruited to do revenue collection work instead of such duties. This not only impacts the quality of work but also causes undue stress on officers who are already grappling with their core responsibilities of revenue collection in the department.

3. While the duties and responsibilities of a Superintendent are critical to the success of the department, we firmly believe that the inclusion of dedicated Administrative Officers would significantly improve the overall functioning of the department. These officers trained and experienced in ministerial procedures could alleviate the burden on Superintendents to focus more effectively on their primary role of tax administration.

4. In view of above, it is requested to kindly recruit required number of Administrative Officers in the department. Their recruitment will not only streamline administrative operations but will also enable the department to function with greater efficiency, ultimately benefiting both the staff and the public we serve. We are confident that this would foster a more organized, effective and productive environment within the department.

Thanking you,

Yours sincerely,

                                                                                                                                                       

(HARPAL SINGH),

Secretary General.

Monday, 11 November 2024

Parity with SOs

 

ALL INDIA ASSOCIATION OF CENTRAL TAX

GAZETTED EXECUTIVE OFFICERS

(Earlier known as All India Association of Central Excise Gazetted Executive Officers)

President:                                             Address for communication:                                      Secretary General:

Kajal Kumar Mandal                         Flat No. 6, SE 11, Shastri Nagar, Ghaziabad                           Harpal Singh

Mob. 9957366172       mail Id:aiacegeo2019@gmail.com        Site:cengoindia.blogspot.in       Mob. 9717510598

Chief Patron: Ravi Malik Patrons: A. Venkatesh, C. S. Sharma, M. Nagaraju

Vice Presidents: B C Khatik, K D Venkatraman  (Central) Swapan Kr Das, Subrata Adhikary (East) Ashish Vajpayi, B B Sharma (North) G Srinivas Reddy, G Ananda Sukumar (South) Siddhraj Parmar, Vimal Kishore Soni (West) Joint Secretaries: Manoj Kumar, T J Manojumon (Central) Pradyut Purkayastha, Ashis Maji (East) Rajeev Prakash, Anil Sreedharan (West) Prabhakar Sharma, R B Sahu (North) K Yugandhar Kumar, S M Kosalaya Devi (South); Office Secretary: B C Gupta Treasurer: Manoj Kumar Liaison Secretary: Bhoopesh Organising Secretary: Utkarsh Sharma Legal Coordinator: S Sabarwal Joint Organising Secretary: Jayant Dey East Zone Coordinator: Debasish Modak

(Recognised vide F.No.B-12017/17/2022-AD-IV A dt. 14.07.23 of CBIC, Govt. of India)

Ref. No. 93/AIB/T/24                                                                       Dt. 11.11.24

To,

(1) The Chairman,                                                                  (2) The Secretary,

CBIC, North Block,                                                                Department of Revenue,

New Delhi.                                                                              North Block, New Delhi.

 

(3) The Secretary,                                                                   (4) The Secretary,

DOPT,                                                                                     Department of Expenditure,

North Block, New Delhi.                                                        North Block, New Delhi.

 

Sub: Request to grant the historically parity with equally placed employees as per the judgement given by the Hon’ble Supreme Court on 09.11.2023 in Civil Appeal No. 1663 of 2016.

Sir,                 

Your kind attention is invited to the Judgment of the Hon’ble Supreme Court dated 09.11.2023 passed in Civil Appeal No. 1663 of 2016 in the case of Union of India & Ors Vs D.G.O.F. Employees Association and Another and earlier representation of the Association on the subject.

2. The Hon’ble Supreme Court in the judgment mentioned supra held that employees with historical pay parity have to be treated without discrimination.  The matter was in relation to the discrimination in the pay to the DGOF Employees (the respondents hereinafter) as compared to the employees in Central Secretariat Service (CSS for short) inspite of having historical pay parity. The Hon’ble Supreme Court held that the error needs to be corrected and addressed the discrimination.

3. The Sixth Pay Commission has covered the pay of the Section Officers of CSS in para 3.1.9 wherein the Section Officers were granted pay scale of Rs. 7500-12000/- in PB-2 with grade pay of Rs. 4800/- and after completion of four years of service were granted with Rs. 8000-13500/- in PB-2 with grade pay of Rs. 5400/-. They were, however, placed in the pay scale of Rs. 8000-13500/- w.e.f. 01.01.1996 vide DOPT Orders No.21/36/03-CS.I Dated 13.11.2003, No.5/4/2005-CS.I Dated 25.01.2006 and No. 5/4/2005-CS-I Dated 30.03.2006 without recommendation of Pay Commission. The respondents who were having historical parity with the employees of CSS were granted pay scale of Rs. 7500-12000 in PB-2 with grade pay of 4800 and after completion of four years of service were granted with Rs. 8000-13500 in PB-2 with grade pay of 5400 (covered under para 3.1.14 of the sixth pay commission report) whereas the employees of CSS were granted pay scale of Rs. 7500-12000 in PB-2 with grade pay of 4800 and after completion of four years of service were granted with Rs. 8000-13500 in PB-3 with grade pay of 5400 by the Govt. w.e.f. 01.01.2006 again without recommendation of pay commission to grant them Rs. 8000-13500 in PB-3 with grade pay of 5400 after completion of four years of service. The matter was finally decided by the Apex Court holding that the employees with historical parity/similarity have to be treated equally without discrimination.

4. The Staff Selection Commission conducts the Recruitment Examinations, for both, i.e., Inspector of Central Excise and Customs/Preventive Officer/Examiner/Income Tax Inspector and Assistant Grade of CSS. Both the posts fall under the same entry level scale at the relevant point of time till date and are construed to be posts with historical parity. The promotional posts for both, i.e., Superintendent of Central Excise/Customs Preventive Superintendents/Appraisers/ITOs and the Section Officers of CSS were also placed under the same pay scale till 13.11.2003 when the above mentioned DOPT Order No.21/36/03-CS.I Dated 13.11.2003 was issued without recommendations of Pay Commission.

5. Thus, the consequential promotional posts for the above, i.e., Superintendent of Central Excise/Customs Preventive Superintendents/Appraisers/ITOs (Superintendent of Central Excise as relevant for us) and the Section Officer in CSS respectively were  carrying parity in the scales till 5th pay Commission.  The para 3.1.9 of the sixth pay commission is reproduced hereunder for ready reference-

3.1.9 Accordingly, the Commission recommends upgradation of the entry scale of Section Officers in all Secretariat Services (including CSS as well as non participating ministries/ departments/organizations) to Rs.7500-12000 corresponding to the revised pay band PB 2 of Rs.8700-34800 along with grade pay of Rs.4800. Further, on par with the dispensation already available in CSS, the Section Officers in other Secretariat 161 Offices, which have always had an established parity with CSS/CSSS, shall be extended the scale of Rs.8000-13500 in Group B corresponding to the revised pay band PB 2 of Rs.8700-34800 along with grade pay of Rs.4800 on completion of four years service in the lower grade. This will ensure full parity between all Secretariat Offices. It is clarified that the pay band PB 2 of Rs.8700- 34800 along with grade pay of Rs.4800 is being recommended for the post of Section Officer in these services solely to maintain the existing relativities which were disturbed when the scale was extended only to the Section Officers in CSS. The grade carrying grade pay of Rs.4800 in pay band PB-2 is, otherwise, not to be treated as a regular grade and should not be extended to any other category of employees. These recommendations shall apply mutatis-mutandis to post of Private Secretary/equivalent in these services as well.

……………………..

* This scale shall be available only in such of those organizations/services which have had a historical parity with CSS/CSSS. Services like AFHQSS/AFHQSSS/RBSS and Ministerial/Secretarial posts in Ministries/Departments organisations like MEA, Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs, CVC, UPSC, etc. would therefore be covered.

6. From the foot note it is evident that the scales with historical parity with CSS is available to the organisations/services which have had a historical parity with CSS/CSSS.  As explained supra, the posts of the Superintendent of Central Excise had a historical parity with the post of Section officer of CSS.   Accordingly, the same scales as provided for CSS are available to the Superintendent of Central Excise.   However, in the Govt. Notification to implement the report of the Sixth Pay Commission, the pay scales for the posts of Income Tax Officers/Superintendent, Appraisers etc. (Customs & Central Excise) were mentioned as 7500-12000 (Grade Pay of Rs. 4800/-) in PB-2 and after four years in 8000-13500 (Grade Pay of Rs. 5400/-) in PB-2 whereas the pay scales for the posts of Section Officers of CSS were mentioned as 7500-12000 (Grade Pay of Rs. 4800/-) in PB-2 and after four years in 8000-13500 (Grade Pay of Rs. 5400/-) in PB-3.  

7. The Hon’ble Supreme Court in Order dated 09.11.2023 in Civil Appeal No. 1663 of 2016 in the case of Union of India & others Vs DGOF Employees Association and another has passed the order correcting such error in the discrimination of pay to the employees with historical parity in pay scales.   From the above submissions, it is evident that the pay scale of Superintendent of Central Excise has been discriminated and the same needs to be rectified to bring justice.  

8. In view of the above submissions, it is requested to kindly extend the same justice to the Superintendents of Central Excise (now CGST) also as held by the Hon’ble Supreme Court in addressing the discrimination in the pay scale to DGOF employees. Accordingly, the Superintendents of Central Excise (now CGST) may kindly be extended the pay scale of Rs. 8000-13500/- w.e.f. 01.01.1996 and equivalent to grade pay of Rs. 5400/- in PB-3 w.e.f. 01.01.2006 after completion of four years of service with grade pay of Rs. 4800/- in PB-2 or equivalent pay scale with all consequential benefits. Same treatment may also be given to the Inspectors of Central Excise (now CGST) getting the scale of Superintendent on account of ACP/MACP upgradation. It is further requested that the Association may also kindly be informed of the outcome of this representation for pursuing further legal recourse as available.    

Thanking you,

Yours sincerely,

                                                                                                                                                       

(HARPAL SINGH),

Secretary General.

Wednesday, 6 November 2024

Retrospectivity of pay scale

 

ALL INDIA ASSOCIATION OF CENTRAL TAX

GAZETTED EXECUTIVE OFFICERS

(Earlier known as All India Association of Central Excise Gazetted Executive Officers)

President:                                             Address for communication:                                      Secretary General:

Kajal Kumar Mandal                         Flat No. 6, SE 11, Shastri Nagar, Ghaziabad                           Harpal Singh

Mob. 9957366172       mail Id:aiacegeo2019@gmail.com        Site:cengoindia.blogspot.in       Mob. 9717510598

Chief Patron: Ravi Malik Patrons: A. Venkatesh, C. S. Sharma, M. Nagaraju

Vice Presidents: B C Khatik, K D Venkatraman  (Central) Swapan Kr Das, Subrata Adhikary (East) Ashish Vajpayi, B B Sharma (North) G Srinivas Reddy, G Ananda Sukumar (South) Siddhraj Parmar, Vimal Kishore Soni (West) Joint Secretaries: Manoj Kumar, T J Manojumon (Central) Pradyut Purkayastha, Ashis Maji (East) Rajeev Prakash, Anil Sreedharan (West) Prabhakar Sharma, R B Sahu (North) K Yugandhar Kumar, S M Kosalaya Devi (South); Office Secretary: B C Gupta Treasurer: Manoj Kumar Liaison Secretary: Bhoopesh Organising Secretary: Utkarsh Sharma Legal Coordinator: S Sabarwal Joint Organising Secretary: Jayant Dey East Zone Coordinator: Debasish Modak

(Recognised vide F.No.B-12017/17/2022-AD-IV A dt. 14.07.23 of CBIC, Govt. of India)

Ref. No. 90/AIB/P/24                                                                       Dt. 06.11.24

COURT MATTER

To,

1. The Secretary,                                                                     2. The Secretary,

Department of Expenditure,                                                   Department of Revenue,

North Block, New Delhi.                                                        North Block, New Delhi.

 

3. The Secretary, DOPT,                                                        4. The Chairman, CBIC,

North Block, New Delhi.                                                        North Block, New Delhi.

 

Subject: Implementation of the order of the Hon’ble Central Administrative Tribunal, Allahabad in OA No. 413/2024 regarding retrospective implementation of the pay scale revision.

Sir,

            Kindly find enclosed herewith the copy of the order Dt. 22.10.2024 delivered by the Hon’ble Central Administrative Tribunal, Allahabad in OA No. 413/2024 regarding the implementation of the pay scale revision w.e.f. 01.01.96.

            2. It is submitted with due regards that the Hon’ble Tribunal has quashed the orders dated 23.08.2023 and 21.04.2004. It has further been directed to grant the revised pay scales for Inspectors and Superintendents of Central Excise with effect from 01.01.1996 alongwith all consequential benefits, including payment of arrears of salary and other emoluments from that date with applicable interest within a period of three months from the date of the above order.

            3. It is also worth to mention that such orders are always of in-rem nature applicable to all equally placed persons. Various Hon’ble courts including the Hon’ble Supreme Court have already passed the orders giving directions to the Govt. to this effect.

            4. In view of above, it is requested to implement the order of the Hon’ble Central Administrative Tribunal, Allahabad at an early date within the stipulated period giving benefit to all equally placed persons as the orders dated 23.08.2023 and 21.04.2004 of the Govt. have already been quashed by the Hon’ble Tribunal.

            Thanking you,

Yours sincerely,

Encl.: As above.                                                                                                                            

(HARPAL SINGH),

Secretary General.

 

Thursday, 24 October 2024

Meetings with Chairman, Pr DG, HRD, HRM, and Pr ADG, HRD, HRM

 

Meetings were held with the Chairman, Pr DG, HRD, HRM, and Pr ADG, HRD, HRM on 22.10.2024, during which the following points were discussed:

 

(A) DPC for the post of Assistant Commissioner:

The officials expressed concern about the DPC process but highlighted several court cases that pose challenges. They stated that every effort is being made to resolve the issue. The DOPT OM of 1988 was brought to their attention and handed over to them. However, they clarified that this OM cannot be applied at this time without a clear court order, as the Bombay CAT has already directed that no DPC, including for ad-hoc promotions, should be conducted until the applicants are granted the benefit of the catch-up rule. The applicants have also filed a contempt case against the Revenue Secretary, as mentioned by the officials. They acknowledged that implementing the catch-up rule is not straightforward.

 

(B) Removal of stagnation and regional disparities in promotions:

The officials noted that this issue would be addressed during the cadre restructuring process. The acute stagnation in certain zones, such as the North East Zone and others, was highlighted. Additionally, schemes like the implementation of the in-situ promotion scheme approved by CBIC on 18.02.2011, a scheme to address stagnation independent of cadre restructuring as approved by the Cabinet in 2013, Batch-to-Batch Non-Functional Financial Upgradation (NFFU) for financial parity, and the Flexible Complementary/Dynamic Assured Career Progression Scheme were mentioned as potential solutions. The officials said they would review these schemes.

 

(C) Ensuing cadre restructuring of CBIC:

The officials remained silent on this matter. 

 

(D) Promotion against refusal of promotion:

The officials agreed in principle and requested a copy of the DOPT OM No. 22011/5/86-Esstt. (D) dated 10.04.1989, which was provided to them.

 

(E) Manpower for field formations:

The officials stated that this issue would be addressed during the cadre restructuring process.

 

(F) Parity in promotions with Examiners:

The officials stated that they would review this issue.

 

(G) Vizianagaram airport to be manned by CGST personnel:

The officials requested details, which were provided.

 

(H) Parity with State GST:

The officials mentioned that they would review this issue at a later stage.