THE CBEC has engaged the Center of Excellence to
study the problems of stagnation existed in the Group "B" Executive
cadres (both gazetted and non-gazetted). The study is being conducted by Mr.
Parkash Chand, Consultant, in association with Mr. B.B. Agrawal, Additional
Director General, Center of Excellence, New Delhi. All recognized Gr-B staff Associations of CBEC, have been requested to submit their
suggestions in this regard to either Mr. Parkash Chand, or Mr.B.B.Agrawal,
at the following addresses:
Mr.
Parkash Chand, Consultant, Directorate General of Human Resources Development,
C-4, West Wing, Ground Floor, IRCON Building, District Center, Saket, New Delhi
110017
Mr.B.B.Agrawal,
Additional Director General, Center of Excellence, 3rd Floor, Tower 3&4,
NBCC Plaza, Pushp Vihar, Sector 5, Saket, New Delhi 110017
Soft
copies may be sent to Mr.Parkash Chand at parkashchand185@gmail.com and to Mr.B B Agrawal at coenacen@gmail.com
Authority:-CBEC Office
Memorandum in F.No.8/B/194/HRD(HRM)/2013, Dated July 04 2014 . Mean while AIACEGEO has already sent its representation to both of them and copy of such representation has already been posted in this blog post along with the enclosures. However a copy of the same is again posted hereinafter.
ALL
INDIA ASSOCIATION OF CENTRAL EXCISE
GAZETTED EXECUTIVE OFFICERS
President:
Address for communication:
Secretary General:
Lokanath Mishra 240, Razapur,
Ghaziabad-201001 (U.P.)
Ravi Malik
Vice Presidents: Sampat
Rai, Vatan Kamble (Central); Anurag Chaudhary, Ravi Joshi (North); A. Ravinder
Singh, Rajan G. George (South); A. S. Roy, Shubhrangshu Deb (East); P. D.
Nimhan, S. K. Jha (West)
Joint Secretaries: Anand Kishore, Laxmi
Lal Singhvi (Central); N. N. Lal, R. K. Solanki (North); G. Srinath, S.
Chandrasekar (South); Ashwini Majhi, V. N. Jha (East); G. K. Jhala, M. K. Misra
(West)
Office Secretary: C.S.Sharma (Mob. 09313885411) Treasurer: N.R.Manda (Mob. 09871483585)
(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. 137/P/14
Dt. 02.07.14
To,
Sh. B. B. Agrawal,
The Commissioner, Study
Group for removal of stagnation of Group B officers,
New Delhi.
Sub: Parity with the best placed counterparts like
CSS etc.
Sir,
It is submitted with due regards
that our officers are retiring only with single promotion at a PB2 post in the
career of 35-40 years after entering the job as Inspector of Central Excise in
PB2 while our counterparts of CSS, CSSS, Rajya Sabha Secretariat, CBDT etc.
recruited in PB2 are easily attaining the PB4 levels after getting 5/6
promotions despite of our officers being performed hazardous & arduous
duties during the course of discharging executive as well as quasi-judicial
functions taking every risk on life of self & family on account of
countering with the white collared criminals, habitual revenue offenders &
dreaded hardcore smugglers alongwith tremendous administrative pressures.
2. Govt. has adopted measures to
bring parity, functional or non-functional, among common entry group ‘A’
officers but no such measures are being taken for group ‘B’ officers. The IRS
officers of CBEC got the parity with their common entry counterparts of CBDT in
the last cadre restructuring and with other better placed group ‘A’ common
entry counterparts including IAS in the current cadre restructuring. Every
effort is also being made to promote group ‘A’ officers of CBEC within
qualifying service but no such effort has ever been made to promote Central
Excise group ‘B’ executive officers in consonance of DOPT guidelines.
3. On account of no efforts being made
to bring group ‘B’ common entry counterparts at par, there is huge
discriminatory disparity between Central Excise group ‘B’ executive officers
and other counterparts. As a result, the counterparts of CSS, CSSS, Rajya Sabha
Secretariat, CBDT etc. are easily attaining the level of Joint Secretary &
Commissioner while Central Excise group ‘B’ executive officers are forced to
retire as Superintendent after single promotion barring 1%. This has made a
huge discriminatory difference between their salaries, pension and other
pre/post-retirement benefits. The current cadre restructuring of CBEC shall
also not be able to undo the continuous discrimination being made to the
Central Excise group ‘B’ executive officers. Only some of them will merely be able
to enter into junior group ‘A’ at the fag end of the career as a result of the
said cadre restructuring because of the temporary posts of Asstt. Commissioner
(JTS level) created only for 5 years with the condition that the officers promoted against these posts
would not be eligible for further promotion.
4. In view of the above, it is necessary
to take some concrete steps independent of cadre restructuring to bring Central
Excise group ‘B’ executive officers at par with their best placed common entry
counterparts of CSS etc. on the lines of group ‘A’. Otherwise the Central
Excise executive officers shall keep working under their juniors even of
Customs recruited in the same cadre of Inspector in the same organisation of
Central Board of Excise & Customs (CBEC). The Inspector cadre has been
trifurcated by the CBEC into three categories without any justification, i.e.,
Inspector of Central Excise, Preventive Officer of Customs and Examiner of
Customs (all analogous posts) recruited through the same competitive
examination under same eligibility conditions in the same organization of CBEC of the same Department of Revenue in the same Ministry of Finance
having same administrative hierarchy and performing same nature of job of tax
collection but with huge discriminatory difference in promotional avenues
(admitted by CBEC). All of these are mentioned as “Inspector only” in the recruitment rules and other relevant
documents getting next promotion as Superintendent of Central Excise,
Superintendent of Customs and Appraiser of Customs (again all analogous posts)
respectively at group ‘B’ gazetted level performing again same nature of job.
The single cadre trifurcated at the level of
Inspector
is re-merged at the level of Asstt.
Commissioner (JTS group ‘A’ entry level) placing Central Excise Inspectors
2 decades behind the Examiners of Customs. The Central Excise stream officers
work in all of the three streams of the CBEC, i.e., Central Excise, Service Tax
and Customs. On the other hand, the Customs stream officers work only in the
Customs stream but they are posted to Central Excise and Service Tax after
entry into group ‘A’. Thus, it is even more surprising that a junior officer
having worked only in the Customs stream and having no knowledge of Central
Excise or Service Tax heads his seniors of Central Excise and Service Tax. Such
a horrible situation of humiliation and discrimination to work under an extreme
junior happens only in the organization of CBEC which is neither justifiable by
any rule of law nor any principle of natural justice.
5. The parity, functional or
even non-functional, with the common entry counterparts may be adopted by
taking the measures like below-
(a) Time bound promotions/scales: Time scales after every 7 years were also recommended by CBEC to 6th CPC
vide F.No.A.26017/147 /06-Ad.II.A Dt. 04.01.07 as one of the measures for these officers. No posts will be required to be created for
the grant of time scale after every 7 years.
(b) Notional promotions granting batch to batch parity with the best
placed common entry counterparts like CSS etc. There already exist so many
legal verdicts in the favour of various employees of many other organizations
on notional promotions.
(c) Creation of supernumerary posts which will be personal to the
officer at each level of the promotion and will be abolished with the
retirement of the officer. There already exist so many legal verdicts in the
favour of various employees of many other organizations on supernumerary posts.
(d) Creation of separate service: It was also recommended to 6th CPC vide F.No.A.26017/147 /06-Ad.II.A Dt. 04.01.07 as one
of the measures. The draft RR’s for separate service have already been submitted
to the CBEC by the Association (enclosed herewith also). The separate service
for group ‘B’ officers has also been recommended on various occasions by the
CBEC and also by the IRS Officers Association. This may be created by taking
all of the vacant posts (after implementation of cadre restructuring) at group
‘A’ level+half of STS posts+half of JTS regular posts by upgrading these to
STS+all of temporary JTS posts (instead of abolishing after 5 years) by
upgrading these to STS (with the provision of promoting Superintendents
directly to STS)+additional posts at each level in proportion to CSS.
(e) Direct promotion to higher post/s: Customs Ministerial
officers are being promoted as Appraiser without working even for a single day
on feeder post of Examiner in CBEC. Likewise, our officers may also kindly be
promoted directly to the higher posts at par with common entry counterparts.
(f) In-situ promotions (requiring no creation of posts) after
completion of residency periods as prescribed by the DOPT and explained under
the forthcoming sub para (i).
(g) Batch to batch functional
upgradation at par with the
best placed common entry counterparts.
(h) Batch to batch non-functional
upgradation at par with the best placed common entry counterparts like CSS etc. (also requiring no creation of posts)
based on the precedent of DOPT OM No. AB.14017/64/2008-Estt.(RR)
dt. 24.04.09 granting NFU to other group ‘A’ officers at par with IAS (detailed
in the Ref. No. 138/NFU/14 Dt. 02.07.14 being sent simultaneously alongwith
this representation).
(i) Re-framing the recruitment rules prescribing the qualifying services in
consonance of the DOPT OM No. AB-14017/61/2008-Estt.(RR) dt. 24.03.09 without
trifurcating the cadre at group ‘B’ non-gazetted/group ‘B’ gazetted level. This
OM stipulates the promotion of the Inspector grade to
the grade of Joint Commissioner, Additional Commissioner & Commissioner
respectively after completion of 12, 17 & 20 years of service. The validity
of this OM was also not questioned by CBEC during the presentation of cadre
restructuring proposal made on 18.01.11 but CBEC showed its inability to
implement the same due to the want of the required number of vacancies/posts.
Regarding the want of the required number of vacancies/posts, it is requested
that the officers may kindly be
granted in-situ promotions (also requiring
no creation of posts) after completion of the prescribed
service/residency period prescribed vide above OM independent of cadre restructuring. No need
to submit that the residency periods have been prescribed by the DOPT vide above
mentioned OM with the due diligence and application of mind without intending
to fulfill mere decorative purpose. A little deviation from these guidelines
prescribed may be understood but the non-implementation of the same at all is
never understandable. If the grant of the prescribed grade is not possible
within 20 years, we may be granted the same after completion of 21, 22, 23, 24,
25, 26,
27,
28, 29 or even 30 years (after
completion of 1½ times of qualifying service based on the precedent of CSS of promoting all the Section Officers to
the STS post of Under Secretary after completion of 1½ times of qualifying
service in 1999). The said residency periods, prescribed by the nodal
department of DOPT, are required to be followed strictly without any deviation
to frame the recruitment rules. Any increase in the prescribed periods will
again enhance the gross injustice being faced by the Central Excise Group B
executive officers for decades. It will merely amount to killing of the patient
to kill the illness.
6. The claim of the Central Excise
Superintendents becomes even stronger on account of the judicial powers granted
to them to adjudicate the relevant cases and recording statements like a
Magistrate under Section 14 of Central Excise Act and Section 108 of Customs
Act having validity even before the Supreme Court. Not only it, the
Adjudication Orders are also being prepared by them for the Commissioner level
officers. No such powers have been granted to any Group ‘B’ Gazetted officer of
the Govt. of India.
7.
Keeping in view the above submissions, it is requested that the due steps may
kindly be taken independent of cadre restructuring to devise the specific
scheme (by means of functional or even non-functional financial upgradation)
for bringing the Central Excise group ‘B’ executive officers at par with their
best placed common entry counterparts like CSS etc. on batch to batch basis
after entry into group B non-gazetted or equivalent grade. It is also the
only way to remove the Intra-Central Excise Zonal disparities being existed in
CBEC.
Thanking you,
Yours
faithfully,
(RAVI
MALIK),
Secretary General.
Copy
with the request for necessary action to:
Sh.
Parkash Chand, Member, Study Group for removal of
stagnation of Group B officers.
(RAVI MALIK)
