Draft Circulars of CBEC which are yet to gain statutory status
WHILE consultative mechanism for bringing into force rules/regulations is the right approach and an important principle to be followed in enactment of delegated legislations by the executive authorities, inordinate time gap in notifying the statutory rules/regulations/notifications/circulars after initial notification of their drafts for public consultation only raises suspicions about the seriousness of such consultative exercises.
Earlier, there were certain instances where the drafts took the shape of a statute after long intervals of time lapse between the initial draft and the final notification of the rule/regulation/circular which only goes to show that they were notified in an abrupt manner after waking up from a deep slumber. In the recent past CBEC had notified certain drafts as detailed below which are yet to get official status in the statute book:
S. No. | Date of uploading for comments/suggestions | Description of topic |
|---|---|---|
1. | 10-09-2010 | Comments/Suggestions invited on draft Scheme of ‘On Site Post Clearance Audit (PCA)' in Customs |
2. | 13-09-2010 | Draft arrear recovery manual for Central Excise, Customs and Service Tax |
3. | 05-08-2010 | Draft Point of Taxation (for Services Provided or Received in India) Rules, 2010 |
4. | 10-02-2010 | Draft Circular for implementation Intellectual Property Rights (Imported Goods) Enforcement Rules, 2007 by March 02, 2010 |
We only hope that the consultative process is not a sham but taken seriously by CBEC and all the objections/suggestions to the drafts are considered in the right earnest before notifying the final rules/regulations/circulars. To ensure transparency and assure that the exercise is not futile it would be prudent on the part of the authority to append a list of persons/organizations who sent in their suggestions or a summary of those comments when the draft is finally notified as a part of the statute.
DDT Cartooning with Dr. Gopalakrishnan, Rtd IAS
Legal Corner Icon — the image was hosted by the publisher and was not captured.Don't worry! I take bribes like all the other government servants! Otherwise, the Government will suspend me for conduct unbecoming of a government servant!