CBEC Chief Commissioners' Conference Today
THE FM will address a two-day conference of the Chief Commissioners of Customs and Central Excise today at Vigyan Bhavan in New Delhi. The Conference is to discuss:
1. Negative List of Services and Common Tax Code of Central Excise and Service Tax: There is so much of negative opinion on this – let us hope the top officers would consider the feedback from the trade.
2. Automation in CBEC – Review and Challenges: The Systems are almost falling apart – there is urgent need for a total revamp.
3. Large Taxpayer Unit – Review and Future Road Map: It seems in LTU Mumbai, the Air Conditioners are not working and there are no fans – You can imagine the plight of people working there. It seems the Department has not paid a rent of over Rs. 2 Crores. The LTUs started with much fanfare are in shambles.
4. Motivation and Image Building. How can you motivate a staff that do not get promotions and proper transfers and then have to work in squalor?
And do you really need a Chief Commissioners' conference? Why can't they have a videoconference instead of so many top officers travelling to Delhi and incurring huge expenditure on their travel, stay, protocol and other paraphernalia? The Expenditure Secretary should have started his austerity drive from the Finance Ministry.