Additional Commissioners of Customs & Central Excise – Who appointed them?
ON 30th July, 2009 the CBEC issued a Notification in F.No.A.32012/20/2006-Ad.II, the opening para of which reads as,
The President of India is pleased to grant the Non-Functional Selection Grade (NFSG) in the Pay Band-4 with Grade Pay of Rs.8,700/- [corresponding to pre-revised pay scale of Rs.14,300-18,300] to the following officers of IRS(C&CE) in Junior Administrative Grade in the Central Board of Excise & Customs .....
The list contained 144 names who were all Joint Commissioners and suddenly they all became Additional Commissioners! Who appointed them? Does a Joint Commissioner on getting the NFSG scale become an Additional Commissioner?
As per Section 2(b) of the Central Excise Act,
"Central Excise Officer" means the Chief Commissioner of Central Excise, Commissioner of Central Excise, Commissioner of Central Excise (Appeals), Additional Commissioner of Central Excise, Joint Commissioner of Central Excise, Assistant Commissioner of Central Excise or Deputy Commissioner of Central Excise or any other officer .....
So the Additional Commissioner is by statute a Central Excise Officer. But shouldn't he be appointed by somebody?
Look at some of the Orders issued by the Board in 2009.
Office Order No. Dated, the 23rd July, 2009
The President of India is pleased to order that the following officers of the IRS (C&CE) in the grade of Deputy Commissioner (Grade-V), be promoted to the grade of Joint Commissioner of Customs and Central Excise (Grade-IV) in Pay Band-3 with Grade Pay of Rs.7,600 [in the pre-revised pay scale of Rs.12,000-16,500], on ad-hoc basis, with effect from the date of assumption of the charge of the post as per the posting indicated in Column-4 of the Table below against the name of the officers so promoted xxxxxxxxx
Office Order No. Dated, the 30th June, 2009
The President of India is pleased to order that the officers of the IRS (C&CE) in the grade of Assistant Commissioner, whose names are mentioned in the Annexure (S. No.1 to 510), be promoted to the grade of Deputy Commissioner (Grade-V) of IRS (C&CE) in Pay Band-3 with Grade Pay of Rs.6,600 [in the pre-revised pay scale of Rs.10,000-15,200] in the Central Board of Excise & Customs, on ad-hoc basis, with effect from the date of assumption of the charge of the post. The officers being promoted through this Order shall assume charge of the post of Deputy Commissioner in the same office in which they are currently posted.
Now Assistant Commissioner and Deputy Commissioner perform the same functions, but from Assistant Commissioner to Deputy Commissioner, it is a promotion. Similarly Joint Commissioner and Additional Commissioner perform the same functions but from JC to ADC it is not a promotion. The President has only given them a higher scale. Then how can they assume charge as Additional Commissioners? Who appointed them as Additional Commissioners?
What is our problem? Isn't it purely a Departmental affair? No, It is a public affair. As per law, the Additional Commissioner is a Central Excise officer and somebody can discharge the functions of an Additional Commissioner including that of adjudication, only if he is properly appointed to that post. All the officers who are functioning as Additional Commissioners without being appointed to the post are perhaps functioning illegally. We don't know whether the appointment of Additional Commissioner is a closely held Departmental Secret. Netizens will remember that the Kolkata Bench of CESTAT had thrown out many cases, because there were no notifications giving additional charge to Commissioners! What would be the fate of orders passed by Additional Commissioners?