Grand Inauguration of Training for 66th Batch of IRS Probationers.
What is the role of CBEC in the GST Regime?
When will we get paperless office?
Be Firm and Fair - No concessions or discounts
IT was a grand affair - for the First time in the history of NACEN, the Finance Minister inaugurated the training programme for a new batch of IRS (Customs&CE) probationers. The FM asked them to be fair and firm - a taxman's job does not involve giving any concessions or discounts. The FM said that tax officers must maintain a fine balance between what taxes are to b e charged and what are not to be charged. He exhorted the Officer Trainees to maintain high level of ethics, morality and credibility in public life.
The MoS Jayant Sinha was the Star Speaker. He stated that the priority of the government was to empower people and not merely grant them entitlements. He noted that the aim of the Government is bring about minimum government and maximum governance. He called for the need to raise the tax to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) ratio from the current levels of 15.5% to match with the levels of the developed nations. He encouraged the Officer Trainees to innovate and improvise as they have the advantage of being at ease with technology. Taking note of the large number of engineers amongst the officer trainees, he advised t hem to deal with any problem at the systemic level and eliminate the root cause of the issue instead of merely fire-fighting. CBEC Chairman Koushal Srivastava thanked the Government for approving the construction of a new campus for the Academy at Hindupur, Andhra Pradesh. DG, NACEN Sree kumar Menon welcomed the gathering and CBEC Member Joy Kumari Chander proposed a vote of thanks.
The probationers were given the opportunity of asking a few questions.
“When will we have 'zero paper office'?” asked a probationer. The MoS replied that he was in a paperless office for ten years he spent in the private sector, but it is not possible any time soon in the Government.
What will be the role of CBEC in the GST regime?, asked another probationer. CBEC will play a central role in the Central Goods & Services Tax (CGST) and Integrated Goods & Services Tax (IGST), was the answer.
The new batch has 21 IITians, 6 from IIMs and at least 1 graduate from Stanford.
CBEC Member SB Singh; Revenue Secretary Shaktikanta Das; MoS Jayant Sinha; FM Arun Jaitley; CBEC chairman Kaushal Srivastava; CBEC Member Joy Kumari Chander with the probationers.
Out of the 230 officers in the batch, 178 reported for training. How and where will NACEN train such a huge batch? It seems a large number of probationers will be sent to Hyderabad for training.