Duties, functions and responsibilities of Inspectors and Superintendents in the Central Excise Range Offices – Board is still in the Tobacco Era!
The CBEC has now issued a detailed list of Duties, functions and responsibilities of Range Officers and Sector Officers.
Some of the duties are:- To maintain
1. Unconfirmed Demands Register and 335 J Register on regular basis. Registers must be updated without any delay.
2. Record of Misc. Information regarding Jurisdiction (335-C)
3. List of Registered assesses (335-D Register)
4. Records of Inspection (335-O Register)
5. Records of Files, manual and other documents (335-N Register)
6. Record of Bonds and Power of Attorney (335-P Register)
Now what are these 335 series registers?
Long long ago there used to be excise duty on tobacco and there used to be a “tobacco excise manual”, popularly known as TEM. This TEM like the Railway Manual was an ‘all in one guide’ which had an answer for every doubt. But then somewhere down the lane, there came a Finance Minister who simply abolished excise duty on tobacco in 1979. Though the duty was gone, the Manual remained in force and record maintenance had some semblance of order. But in 1989, the Board issued a new Basic Manual of Departmental Instructions on manufactured Products, popularly known as BEM, in which it was clearly mentioned that the relevant portions of the Tobacco Excise Manual (TEM) were incorporated in the new manual and hence the TEM will be no more in force. So the TEM had its official death in 1989, with the Board publicly issuing the Death Certificate.
Now these records mentioned above – 335 J, C, D, O, N, P etc, refer to para 335 of the TEM, which expired in 1989. But not many in the Department were aware of the death of TEM for two reasons.
1. The new BEM was not well circulated
2. Whoever got copies had no time or inclination to read them.
So you had the farce for the last 20 years when Assistant Commissioners/ Deputy Commissioners/ JCs/Additional Commissioners/Commissioners inspecting Range officers noting in their Inspection Reports that 335 C,D,N,J,P,O,R etc are maintained in the offices. There are even Commissionerates maintaining these records in their headquarters – without knowing why these are maintained. Oh Lord forgive them for they know not what they are expected to know!
Now the joke is taken to the highest level – the Board. The CBEC is asking its officers to maintain records which it abolished twenty years ago!
If an Inspector asks the Board what this 335 J Register is and what the authority is for maintaining this register, does the Board have an answer?
This is not a very serious matter with which the assessees have nothing to do, but is a pathetic situation – What kind of respect the field will have for the Board when the Board tells them that it is not aware of changes made twenty years ago?
By the way, it is not a bad idea to bring back the Tobacco Excise Manual (TEM) – it was a master piece and with very little changes could be used for all times to come.
CBEC F.No. 224/ 37/2005-CX-6 Dated: December 24, 2008