Income Tax Cadre Review - IRS(D) vs IRS(P) - Central Excise also figures in the battle of wits
THE IRS (Direct Recruit) officers of the Income Tax Department are up in arms against the Group B Income Tax Officers trying to grab all the newly created posts of Assistant Commissioner of Income Tax. The IRS(DR) officers in a letter to the Chairperson of CBDT, states, “there have been some disturbing attempts recently for filling up all the vacancies of ACIT arising as a result of Cadre Restructuring 2013 by only promotion and that too in one go.” 1349 new posts are available and the ITOs want all of them to be filled by promotion and not by the 50:50 ratio between direct recruits and promotes. The IRS Officers (D) have come out with some interesting facts/views:
1. This type of en masse promotion of ITOs as ACITs will create huge vacancies at the level of Inspectors, who are at the cutting edge of the functioning of the Department.
2. The Revenue collections are adversely affected by frequent and illegal strikes by some associations in the Department, with even promotee Group A officers participating in the strike against conduct rules.
3. Stagnation at the level of promotion from ITO to ACIT or ITI to ITO was a misnomer.
4. Promotion from Group B to Group A is the fastest in the Income Tax Department compared to any other department of the Central Government or State Governments. A person recruited as Inspector is retiring as Additional Commissioner and some even as Commissioners. This growth is unheard of in any other department in the country, especially when even direct recruit IRS officers are retiring as Commissioners.
5. Inspectors of Income Tax are promoted as ITOs within three to five years. Inspectors recruited in the sister Department of Customs and Central Excise are retiring as Assistant Commissioners.
6. Inspectors of Central Excise with 24 years of service are waiting for their first promotion and Superintendents of Central Excise with 18 years of service are waiting for the next promotion as Assistant Commissioners.
7. Way back in 1986, the Finance Minister had said, “the alleged grievances of the promotee officers of the income tax department are unreal and imaginary. In the past, the prospects, position and power enjoyed by them happened to be better only because of a systematic and persistent violation of Rules.
8. By projecting some unreal and imaginary grievances and by resorting to pressure tactics, the promotee IRS officers and ITGOA have forced a systematic and persistent violation of rules in their favour to the detriment of the prospects of the Direct Recruit IRS officers and the country as a whole.
9. Promotee officers with very limited perspective caused political infighting for promotions and affected the morale of the Direct Recruits, which consequently has an adverse impact on the revenue collection and also led to increased harassment of the genuine taxpayers.
10. ITGOA is using all the channels available to them to press for this unjust demand of theirs. They have gone to the media, met all important people in Delhi like PM, MOS(Finance), MOS(personnel), RS, Chairperson & Members of CBDT, some MPs, etc. They have written letters to VIPs and made many VIPs to write letters to PM and FM. They are doing this again and again and are pressing for their unjust and illegitimate demand.
The Income Tax Gazetted Officers Association (ITGOA) has responded sharply. In a letter to the Chairperson, CBDT, the Association takes strong exception to the highly derogatory and deplorable conclusions of the IRS(D) officers. They say, “there is no scope for comparing our Department with Central Excise, because of difference in circumstance. Central Excise is Inspector oriented department, whereas ours is officer oriented”. They are sad that an Inspector who joined in 1994 and became an ITO in 2001 is still waiting for his next promotion, whereas the 1994 Direct Recruit IRS officer is now an Additional Commissioner.
The Association states that the deliberate misconception that is being propagated amongst DR IRS Officers will vitiate the office atmosphere, by polarizing Officers into two warring groups of DR & PR.
The Association questions, “Is this a desirable situation? Can CBDT allow such a thing to happen? If not, then what steps does CBDT intend to take, to stem such undesirable developments?”
Position in Central Excise: What would be the feelings of Central Excise Inspectors and Superintendents who read this plight of their colleagues in Income Tax? Many of the Inspectors who joined in 1976, 1977 and 1978 have already retired as Superintendents with just one promotion in their career spanning 35 years and more. An Inspector becoming an Additional Commissioner or even a Commissioner? Just beyond all dreams!!!