DRI releases Draft Preventive Manual – Invites Comments from Departmental Officers
ONCE upon a time the CBEC used to have well written manuals for Customs, excise, audit, preventive, adjudication and a host of commodity manuals and an Office Procedure manual called OPM. Over a period of time, the officers became a law unto themselves and the manuals slowly withered away with nobody to renew, revise or update them.
These manuals helped the Departmental Officers in functioning effectively as per the law and instructions and within a uniform procedure all over the country. Over the years, the officers lost the patience and ability to read and they developed giant sized ego and a contempt for the Board as well as the assessees. When they refuse to follow Supreme Court decisions, what respect they have for the Board or stupid manuals? You may be surprised (I am not) that Show Cause Notices are still being issued for demanding Service Tax for import of services for the period from 1.1.2005!
It seems the railway manual has an answer to every problem that an employee may face in discharging his duties. Unfortunately there is no such manual for the Customs, Excise and Service Tax officers – even if there is one, nobody is going to read it and implement it, because disobeying the Board is a regular habit in the field and nobody was ever punished for blatant disobedience of the Board or its instructions. There are still many adjudicating authorities who believe that they are independent judges and not bound by the silly instructions of the Board or higher judicial authorities.
Now the DRI has released a new Draft Preventive Manual. The previous manual was released in 1987 and a Draft Customs Preventive Manual was prepared in 2000. Now the DRI has released the Draft Customs Preventive Manual 2009 and has asked the Departmental Officers for their comments and suggestions. The DRI wants the comments to reach them by 31.01.2010, so that the final manual (already approved by the Board) may be released in this Financial Year. But why call it Draft Preventive Manual 2009, when it is released only in 2010?
The First lady DG of DRI, Vijai Lakshmi Sharma will have a proud place in history if she can get the final manual released this year – after 23 years of the previous manual.
The Draft Manual proudly declares, No goods can be imported or exported, except in accordance with provisions of the law. Section 11 empowers the central Government to prohibit, through issue of notification, either absolutely or subject to pre/post clearance conditionality, import or export of any goods if it is satisfied that it is necessary so to do for any of the twenty two purposes listed in the sub clause (2) of Section 11.
Compare this with what the Commerce Ministry says in the Foreign Trade Policy, “Exports and Imports shall be free, except where regulated by FTP or any other law in force”
The DPM states, “CBEC, according to its Citizen's Charter, “is the apex body for administering the levy and collection of indirect taxes of the Union of India viz. Central Excise duty, Customs duty and Service Tax, and for facilitating cross border movement of goods & services” – but for the Citizen's charter, the DPM is not prepared to accept the supremacy of the Board?
The Manual has given the detailed description and functions of the various DGs, but when it comes to Directorate General of Export Promotion - , there is a blank. The Manual obviously does not know what this DG is supposed to do!!
The Manual states that the appointment of Customs ports under Section 7 is to be done by the Central Government, but this is a power vested with the Board!!
The Manual stipulates that Recruitment to the Group 'D' cadre is either directly through Employment Exchange and Sports quota etc. or by promotion from the menial staff of Loaders and Hamals etc., as per the existing recruitment policy.
Do we still call employees menial ?
DGDRI letter DRI.F.NO. XII A/10-Pol/08 Dated: 23 .12.2009 and the manual