But Can such Large Scale evasion take place without the Knowledge/Connivance of the Department?
ADDRESSING the Chief Commissioners' conference on 1.6.2008, the then Finance Minister Chidambaram said that, “Under a thana (police station), no crime can take place without the knowledge or connivance of at least one officer.”
Can such large scale evasion take place without the knowledge and tacit support of the officers of the Department? A steel manufacturer told DDT that he was resorting to evasion only to feed the Central Excise officers and of course in the process, he has gained immensely. He said that the Department will not allow him to work honestly. The whole Department was angry with him when he turned honest and started doing only job work for a major integrated steel plant and there was no scope for evasion. It is not as if there is some speed money collected by the lower level staff – the cut goes right up to the Chief Commissioner. The 1.09 Crores collected by the Superintendent certainly cannot be for him alone! An assesse told us that the Departmental officers do not understand economics. When the Finance Minister reduced the rates of duty, they refused to reduce their bribes. Only if the rate of duty is high, the fruits of evasion would be high!