TIOL-DDT 248 · the untouched capture
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<p><b><font color="#996699" size="3" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">TIOL-DDT
248</font></b><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b><br>
25 11 2005<br>
Friday</b></font></p>
<p align=center><font color="#006633" size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b>Central
Excise/ customs/ Income Tax staff seeks better service conditions, mainly
promotions</b></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">The
lower rung officers of the Revenue departments seem to be a very frustrated
lot, mainly because they don’t get promotions. Yesterday they organised
lunch time demonstration (It can’t be called lunch <b>hour</b> as the
lunch break is only 30 minutes) in front of their offices demanding better
scales and reasonable promotions. The Ayakar Bhavan and the Central Excise
Bhavan looked different with employees staging demonstrations as curious assessees
watched in amusement.</font></p>
<p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">But
there is a real problem there. How long can you carry a massive dissatisfied
work force? Look at the Inspectors in Income Tax or Central Excise. They pass
one of the toughest exams in the country and then are dumped as dirt. You
can’t run the department without them but when it comes to distributing
largesse, they are the last in the line. You can’t find an identical
cadre in any department. The inspector is selected after a really tough test,
given a fairly good salary and thereafter thoroughly used without any rewards.
He has no subordinates; means has nobody to pass the buck on to. The entire
department is one huge pyramid of a boss to him. His work is not identified.
He works as a clerk, typist, peon, messenger, Xerox operator, manager, trouble
shooter, protocol officer (the <b>officer</b> is added only to cheat him into
doing a better job in chaperoning egoistic bosses). A Sepoy can refuse to
carry a file, a UDC can refuse to type but an Inspector is one who does everything.
Why should you hire such talented people and then use them for trivial odd
jobs? And they are assured of dark career prospects. One who joins as an inspector
remains as one for fifteen years when he may get a promotion as Superintendent
where he will remain for the rest of his life. The department has been for
some inexplicable reason very unfair to the Inspectors while it had been extremely
nice to other cadres.</font></p>
<p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">A
person who had joined the department as an LDC twenty five years ago is a
Superintendent today having got five promotions. He is a very happy man in
life. At the other end a person who joined the IRS around the same time is
now a Commissioner. And the one who joined as Inspector is a Superintendent
and will remain one till he retires. </font></p>
<p align="justify" ><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">And
all that they shout now is, “Give us three promotions in life”
. Will somebody listen or is their cry one in the wilderness of bureaucratic
indifference? How long can you expect this Atlas to shoulder this heavy load?
What will happen if he shrugs? </font></p>
<p align=center><font color="#006633" size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b>OFFLOADING
OF CROSS-HOLDINGS OF SHARES HELD BY IOC, ONGC AND GAIL </b></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">IOC
holds 9.6% of the shares in ONGC and 4.8% of the shares in GAIL. GAIL owns
2.4% shares in ONGC. ONGC owns 9.1% of the shares in IOC and 4.8% of the shares
in GAIL. </font></p>
<p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">IOC
bought nearly 14 Crores shares of ONGC at Rs. 162. Today the share is quoted
at Rs. 1025. IOC’s gain in ONGC = Rs. 12000 Crores.</font></p>
<p align="justify" ><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">IOC
bought nearly 4 Crores shares of GAIL at Rs. 60. Today the share is quoted
at Rs. 259. IOC’s gain in GAIL = Rs. 800 Crores.</font></p>
<p align="justify" ><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">GAIL
bought nearly 3.5 Crores shares of ONGC at Rs. 162. Today the share is quoted
at Rs. 1025. GAIL’s gain in ONGC = Rs. 3000 Crores</font></p>
<p align="justify" ><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">ONGC
bought 3.5 Crores shares in IOC at Rs.386. Today the share is quoted at Rs.
496. ONGC’s gain in IOC = Rs. 400 Crores</font></p>
<p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">ONGC
bought nearly 4 Crores shares of GAIL at Rs. 60. Today the share is quoted
at Rs. 259. ONGC’s gain in GAIL = Rs. 800 Crores.</font></p>
<p align="justify" ><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Now
the cabinet has permitted these PSUs to offload their cross holdings. They
can use the proceeds to fund their capital expenditure. </font></p>
<p align=center ><font color="#006633" size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b>War
against tobacco – Central Excise leads</b></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Next
time you go to a Central Excise office or for that matter any Central Government
office, don’t look for a place to smoke – there is none. The Government
has issued instructions to appoint an inspecting team to book offenders.</font></p>
<p align="justify"> <font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">·
The Nodal Office will constitute a three member inspecting team headed by
a gazetted officer for each floor to cover its offices.</font></p>
<p align="justify" style='text-align:justify;'> <font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">·
The Inspecting Team will inspect the building (including Sections and other
offices and also the corridors, lifts, canteens, shops/stall, toilets etc.)
often to identify the persons smoking in the building and bring to the notice
of the Nodal Officer who will initiate appropriate action </font></p>
<p align="justify"> <font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">·
The heads of the sections and senior officers in respect of their staff will
be responsible to ensure that there is no smoking in the office. </font></p>
<p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">·
In case of any violation, the <b>concerned </b>officers will report to the
Nodal Officer. The violators may include government servants and also visitors.</font></p>
<p align="justify" ><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">It
appears that Central Excise Commissionerates like <st1:City w:st="on">Ahmadabad
and <st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Hyderabad have already initiated
action. In Hyderabad, Commissionerate II on VI and VII floors of the building
has put up prominent notices that smokers will be fined Rs. 200/-. It is not
yet known whether the law applies to the other floors, but there was not a
soul smoking in the building. Smokers become souls sooner.</font></p>
<p align=center ><font color="#006633" size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b>Concerned
officers vs officers concerned?</b></font></p>
<p align="justify" ><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">One
of the perils of the present day law making is an absolute disrespect to the
English language, mostly arising out of plain ignorance. Who is a <b>concerned
officer</b>? One who is</font></p>
<p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><a
href="http://www.answers.com/main/ntquery?method=4&dsid=2083&dekey=A0045850&gwp=11&curtab=2083_1"
target="_top">agitated</a>, <a
href="http://www.answers.com/main/ntquery?method=4&dsid=2083&dekey=A0075100&gwp=11&curtab=2083_1"
target="_top">anxious</a>, <a
href="http://www.answers.com/main/ntquery?method=4&dsid=2083&dekey=D0461800&gwp=11&curtab=2083_1"
target="_top">distressed</a>, <a
href="http://www.answers.com/main/ntquery?method=4&dsid=2083&dekey=N1027800&gwp=11&curtab=2083_1"
target="_top">nervous</a>, <a
href="http://www.answers.com/main/ntquery?method=4&dsid=2083&dekey=S1415100&gwp=11&curtab=2083_1"
target="_top">solicitous</a>, <a
href="http://www.answers.com/main/ntquery?method=4&dsid=2083&dekey=U1606800&gwp=11&curtab=2083_1"
target="_top">uneasy</a>, <a
href="http://www.answers.com/main/ntquery?method=4&dsid=2083&dekey=U1632600&gwp=11&curtab=2083_1"
target="_top">unsettled</a> … Very often the government gives instructions
to the concerned officers and truly they are all concerned – worried.
But the <b>officer concerned</b> is a different breed. He is the one who is
<a
href="http://www.answers.com/main/ntquery?method=4&dsid=2083&dekey=A0038200&gwp=11&curtab=2083_1"
target="_top">affected</a>, <a
href="http://www.answers.com/main/ntquery?method=4&dsid=2083&dekey=I0844800&gwp=11&curtab=2083_1"
target="_top">interested</a>, <a
href="http://www.answers.com/main/ntquery?method=4&dsid=2083&dekey=I0857800&gwp=11&curtab=2083_1"
target="_top">involved</a>. Many a time when the government wants the concerned
officer to take action what they mean is not the worried officer but the responsible
officer. Even the <b>concerned </b>officers mentioned above who are to catch
the smokers are not really concerned about the smokers, but he is the one
responsible for fixing the offenders. </font></p>
<p align="center"><font color="#0000FF" size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b>A
concerned officer may be worried about your problem but an officer concerned
may be able to solve your problem.</b></font></p>
<p><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b><font color="#FF6666">Until
Monday with more DDT<br>
<br>
Have a nice Weekend. <br>
<br>
Mail your comments to</font> </b><a
href="file:///C:\Documents%20and%20Settings\Owner\Desktop\vijaywrite@taxindiaonline.com">vijaywrite@taxindiaonline.com</a></font></p>
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