TIOL-DDT 138 · the untouched capture
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<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN"> <html> <head> <title>Untitled Document</title> <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1"> </head> <body> <font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"> <b><font color="#663399" size="3">TIOL-DDT 138</font><br> 17 06 2005<br> Friday</b></font> <p align="center"><font color="#006633" size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><strong>The humble CVC</strong></font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">It was great to meet the Central Vigilance Commissioner, Mr P Shankar, a man of deep humility in spite of his eminent position – He is one of the very few public servants in the country who does not have a boss. But that makes him more responsible. With his sharp wit and pleasant manners, his concern for curbing corruption and at the same time protecting the honest officers and his understanding of the difficulties of the bureaucrat – after all he has been one for more than three decades – he was undoubtedly the star of the two day workshop on Central Excise in Hyderabad. A very net-savvy person, he had visited the office of the DG, Systems of Customs and Central Excise to personally find out how the department was implementing the e- programmes. </font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">He is deeply concerned about the availability of government notifications and orders on the web. He was very much impressed when I told him that TIOL was making available Notifications and circulars of the Revenue Department absolutely free to all through its website immediately after they are issued. He not only informed this to his colleagues in the Commission but made a mention of this in his address in the workshop the next day. </font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b>Officers of Doubtless Integrity (ODI):</b> The CBI in collaboration with the Vigilance maintains a list of Officers of Doubtful Integrity, who are under watch unknown to them. A Customs Commissioner suggested to the CVC that they should maintain a list of officers of proven integrity and any complaints against these officers should be ignored. The CVC replied that the assumption is that most of the officers are honest and there are only a few officers whose integrity is doubtful. Once a list of honest officers is made, all others would be deemed to be dishonest. </font></p> <p align="justify"><font color="#006633" size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b>Lok Satta’s solutions for the department</b></font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">The Two-day workshop organised by Lok Satta in association with CBEC and CVC offered many recommendations to improve the department in its working as well as relations with the assessees. Some of the recommendations are:- </font></p> <p align="justify"><font color="#006633" size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b>Structure: </b> </font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">++ Preventive / Anti-evasion to be centralised at the Commissionerate Head Quarters level and done away with at the Division level. Headquarters preventive unit can have branches in case of Commissionerates with far-flung jurisdictions. </font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">++ Audit function to be continued at the Commissionerates' Headquarters.</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">++ Quality of manpower at the level of ranges should be improved and the ranges should be strengthened in terms of infrastructure, logistics and public delivery system. </font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">++ Single point of contact for the entrepreneur, and greater accountability.</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b>Anything new? And what do recommendations like improve the quality in Range mean? Actually there was a prolonged discussion on the question of abolishing the Ranges.</b></font></p> <p align="justify"><b><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Structure</font></b></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">++ Eliminate overlap of functions, and improve efficiency (<b> means?)</b></font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">++ Entrepreneurs to be spared of multiple visits by authorities </font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">++ Create a mechanism for holding periodic Open House meetings at the Commissionerates level at suitable and accessible locations to all Stakeholders. Only Commissioners and Additional/Joint Commissioners should attend from the Department side. This will act as a feedback mechanism at the cutting-edge level. (<b>nobody bothers to attend such meetings</b>) </font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">++ Divisions will continue and will only deal with administrative and statutory functions (<b>what else are they doing now?)</b></font></p> <p align="justify"><b><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Role of Range:</font></b></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">++ Range will assist and counsel the assessee, and encourage voluntary tax compliance. A Helpline Center at a suitable location accessible to all stakeholders is recommended. (<b>is there any range that discourages voluntary compliance? Help centres are already announced by Board and some have started functioning)</b></font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">++ Range, with the associations’ involvement, will conduct mandatory orientation programs for SSIs approaching threshold levels of Rs 1 crore </font></p> <p align="justify"><font color="#006633" size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b>Registration:</b></font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">• For application of registrations, acknowledgement or deficiency note should be given in one day. Deficiency Note should be formatted. </font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">• In case of non-delivery of certificate in seven days, where proper acknowledgement has been given by the department for application, the assessee will make his own registration number (on the basis of PAN number). The department will notify/publicize on how to give own number in such situations. </font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">• On line registration should be operationalised in six months </font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">• On the issue of filing returns/documents in person, Association can collect these returns on behalf of the assessee and file with the department. This will prevent individual assessee and department interface. Proposed Help Centre in public-private partnership can be given this mandate</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b>Does any body face any problem regarding registration now? Lok Satta had once campaigned that Central Excise demands about Rs. 25,000/- for issue of Registration and about Rs. 15,000/- for cancellation of registration. May be they don’t understand the recent changes. Which Association is ready to collect returns of all its members and hand over to the Ranges and why is nobody talking of e filing of returns?</b></font></p> <p align="justify"><font color="#006633"><b><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Inspections</font></b></font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">• Right to enter factory premises should be only on well substantiated purposes and should be exercised only with the prior permission of the Asst./ Dy. Commissioner of Central Excise in case of all units. </font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">• Right to enter premises shall be available only in the following cases :- </font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">– During audit or for carrying audit related function</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">– When a documented information is received against manufacturer or importer/exporter or for parliamentary queries</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">– When any vehicle with goods is caught on the way without appropriate Central Excise invoice. </font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">– Exceptions made should be specified.</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">• A register should be maintained in all units where details of their name, designation and purpose of their visit should be entered. Periodic review of the assessee’s registers should be taken up by the Department to match with in-house desk diary maintained by the officer. </font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">• All inspecting official should present their identity cards at the time of visit of factory.</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b>Don’t all these things already exist? And should an officer visit for export clearance? </b></font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">++ Assessee to be allowed to have his officials/advisors during inspection to get information/ factual details.</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">++ Officials to be trained in inspections – for instance, input-output ratios, capacities, electricity charges can be investigated with adequate allowance for process losses so that disputes on frivolous issues can be avoided.</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b>Now there is really no inspection of any factory and the suggestions on input output ratio and electricity consumption were followed by the department for at least fifty years and the trade is not really wiling to accept these findings. </b></font></p> <p align="justify"><font color="#006633" size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b>Summons:</b></font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">• Summons should be issued when all other modes of obtaining information have failed. </font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">• Summons should be issued only after approval is obtained from appropriate authority (Asst. Commissioner or Dy. Commissioner). </font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">• The notice should clearly state the reason for which an individual is being summoned and the time of appearance. </font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">• The summons notice should specify the nature of documents required and specific reasons can be given. </font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">• There is a circular which states that - Director and MD need not be summoned in the normal course, should be reiterated. </font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b>What’s the new revelation and in fact the poor department really cannot do anything if the summoned person does not turn up.</b></font></p> <p align="justify"><font color="#006633" size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b>Audit: </b></font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">• As far as possible there should be only one audit visit. The documents required can be sought for through other means (courier and e-mail) . A visit can be avoided for collection of data. As far as possible, the team that visits for data collection should also visit for audit. </font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">• Travel facilities for the audit team should be made available by the Department. ( <b>Even now the assessee is not required to provide transport) </b></font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">• The practice of issuing show cause notice as a result of CERA objection shall not be followed where the policy decision/notification are objected by CERA. ( <b>this recommendation actually did not come from the trade in the Work shop; it was from the department)</b> </font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">• There should be on site consultation between CAG and assessees and assessees’ views should be recorded. (<b> this is another departmental suggestion</b>)</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">We will bring you more recommendations on Monday but here are some quotes from the Lok Satta website.</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b>Money is not in short supply, good governance is! </b></font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">++ More money is not the answer, better ways of utilizing it are! </font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">++ <b>We have over 30,000 central and State laws. Many of them are relics of the colonial past. Even the sensible laws are not enforced properly. </b></font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">++ Might is right, and people approach criminal lords for rough and ready justice. In time, these criminals become politicians, and lord over the police. </font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">++ <b>the roles of master and servant are reversed. The citizen has become the slave, and the employer has become the '<i>maibap</i>'.</b></font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">A uniformed inspector asked me outside the venue, “Why don’t you ask them to discuss in the workshop the problems of grass-root workers of Central Excise – like Inspectors?”</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b><font color="#FF6666">Until Monday with more DDT</font></b></font></p> <p align="justify"><font color="#FF6666"><b><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Have a nice weekend. </font></b></font></p> <p align="justify"><font color="#FF6666"><b><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Mail your comments to</font></b></font><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"> <b>vijaywrite@taxindiaonline.com </b></font></p> </body> </html>