Revenue by Recovery - Illegal and Arbitrary - CBEC Should Rein in Field Officers
CENTRAL Excise Officers in the field are on the rampage - with revenue targets nowhere near reachable horizon, they want to collect arrears - which are not really arrears. Adjudicating officers are on an order-manufacturing spree, confirming demands left right and centre, not having even the slightest respect for the LAW, Supreme Court and other Higher Judicial Fora and CBEC's own instructions.
Immediately after an outrageous order is passed demanding astronomical amounts of duty, penalty and interest, the officers pounce upon the assessees even before the appeal time expires. As many of the Tribunal Benches are not functioning regularly especially in Chennai and Bangalore, Stay petitions are piling up.
But the Departmental officers strongly believe that the assessee has colluded with somebody to ensure that vacancies in Tribunal are not filled up and so if there is no stay, they are not bothered. "It is not our problem that CESTAT is not functioning, either you get a stay or pay up", is the cool demand of some of the field officers.
Assessees are threatened with attachment and sale of goods and all kinds of armour the Department possesses to harass the assessees into closing down their business. If a tough assessee manages to stay afloat, the department is determined to kill him with the weapon of attachment. Senior officers of the factories are not breaking their heads on production or sales but running round Central Excise Offices to beg them not to initiate killer action against them.
It appears that these threats are not the actions of a few overzealous lower level officers, but are done with the tacit support and directions of the Chief Commissioners. So, virtually the assessees have no place to go and explain their woes.
Rebates and refunds due to the assessees are not being paid and appropriated against atrocious demands against which appeals are pending in Tribunal or even in cases where Tribunal had granted stay against the demands.
In the last two days, we carried two such cases.
In one case, the Tribunal noted that in a similar case, a High Court had imposed an exemplary cost of Rs. 1 Lakh on an Assistant Commissioner and directed that a copy of the order may be sent to Chairman, CBEC for appropriate action. ()
In another case, the Tribunal referred to decisions by several High Courts and held that the appropriation of the amounts when the appellant's stay application was pending before the Tribunal is not sustainable in law. ()
The Board had also instructed long ago that no coercive action should be taken to realise dues till the disposal of the stay application.
Why is it that the field has no respect for the directions of the Board, Tribunals, High Courts and the Supreme Court?
Is collection of a small amount of revenue (that is not really yours by law) that important - just to meet your stupid targets?
The Finance Minister should realise that his officers are doing a great damage to Revenue, Industry and above all the faith of the citizen in Government being fair and law abiding and not just a collector like Robin Hood!
The CBEC Chairman should instruct her officers to collect revenue by means fair and legal and not by unleashing a reign of terror on those assessees who work hard to ensure that you are paid fat salaries and even given a whip to thrash them. Don't kill that goose and it is possible that Atlas may shrug.