CESTAT Mumbai has no money to dispatch notices/letters
IN a letter addressed to the Chief Commissioners and Commissioners of Central Excise, Customs and Service Tax of Maharashtra and Goa regions, the Deputy Registrar, Mumbai CESTAT informs
Due to paucity of fund postal department has stopped giving services to this office. Because of which, this office is not in a position to dispatch / deliver hearing notices, letters, appeal memo etc. to your office.
In meantime, you are requested to depute your staff to CESTAT, Mumbai at regular interval to collect the tapal meant for your Commissionerate, till the issue resolves.
In a similar Notice, addressed to no one in particular, the Deputy Registrar informs
Due to paucity of fund postal department has stopped giving services to this office. Because of which, this office is not in a position to dispatch / deliver hearing notices, Orders, Letters, appeal memo etc. to the concerned parties/advocate/consultants.
In meantime, you are requested to depute your staff (with proper authorization) to CESTAT, Mumbai at regular interval to collect the tapal meant for you, till the issue resolves.
Further, you are requested to verify Cause Lists and attend matter as per Cause List even though you have not received hearing notice. Further, you can confirm the same from concerned branch registry.
The Registry is concerned - so are the parties and advocates. But what is this pathetic situation? This Tribunal which deals in Crores of rupees of revenue does not have money to buy postage stamps! And the service provided by CESTAT is not exactly free - for most of the appeals filed by the assessees, there is a fee of Rs. 10,000/-. Where is this money going? Not much of what goes into the Consolidated Fund of India comes out!.
If the Government cannot give money to the Tribunal to buy postage stamps, it should seriously consider closing down these tribunals. They are in the process of opening new benches of the Tribunal - will they give enough money to run these new benches?
So, you have a classic situation where the Goa Commissionerate or for that matter any far flung Commissionerate in Maharashtra spending thousands of rupees in travel expenses and deputing a Sepoy to collect the priceless tapal meant for his Commissionerate. In fact, the CESTAT Registrar should have requested all the Commissionerates falling within its jurisdiction to contribute monies as loans towards meeting the postal expenses considering the quantum of frivolous appeals being filed by them, if not for anything else!
Before this story is picked up by the newspapers and media and the usual embarrassment is thrust upon the government body, it would be advisable that the letter is withdrawn and the purse strings of the 'Secret fund' are loosened!