TIOL-DDT 254 · the untouched capture
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<html> <head> <title>Untitled Document</title> <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1"> </head> <body bgcolor="#FFFFFF"> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b><font color="#663399" size="3">TIOL-DDT 254</font><br> 05 12 2005<br> Monday</b></font></p> <p align="center"><font color="#006633" size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b>Procedure for disposal of unclaimed cargo </b></font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Board has issued a fresh set of instructions for speedy disposal of unclaimed/uncleared cargo. </font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">1. This procedure is applicable only to cargo remaining unclaimed/ uncleared for more than one year.</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">2. The custodian will furnish a detailed list to the Customs and also issue a notice to the consignee stating that if the goods are not cleared within 15 days they will be sold.</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">3. The Customs shall scrutinize the list and inform the custodian about any disputed or stayed consignments. If no such intimation is received from customs within 15 days the custodian can go ahead with the disposal.</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">4. The responsibility of the disposal will be exclusively with the custodian, irrespective of any value determined by Customs.</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">5. Customs will not insist on detailed inventory of the consignments but may choose 10% of the consignments for verification.</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">6. The disposal shall be by public auction in accordance with the guidelines issued by the Central Vigilance Commission. </font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">7. The bidding will be on cum-duty price. However local taxes like sales tax have to be collected extra from the buyer. </font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">8. An officer from the Customs will be present at the auction but he cannot withdraw consignments from the auction at the last movement except with the written approval of the Commissioner.</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">9. The custodian will file a consolidated Bill of Entry and the Customs will allow clearance after the assess duty is paid by the custodian.</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><a href="http://www.taxindiaonline.com/RC2/subCatDesc.php3?subCatDisp_Id=25&filename=notification/custom/2005/cuscir05_050.htm">CBEC Circular No. 50/2005 – Customs, Dated December 1, 2005</a></font></p> <p align="center"><font color="#006633" size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b>Tsunami Exemption – certificate after completion </b></font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">While the houses constructed for the Tsunami victims must have been washed off in the present floods in Tamil Nadu, the impossible notification has been amended possibly because nobody could claim the exemption. In <b>DDT 182 </b>- 18 08 2005 , it was commented,<br> <br> The agencies will now find that fighting Tsunami was a far more easy exercise than getting that refund from Central Excise. First of all they have to get hold of all those Central Excise Invoices. Then they have to satisfy the Central Excise officer that the cement and steel have been indeed used in the construction and have documentary proof that the goods have suffered duty. <br> <br> There seems to be no time limit for the department to grant refund and it is not clear if interest will be paid for delayed refunds. It is almost sure most of the refund claims will be rejected on ground of unjust enrichment! The whole purpose of the notification seems to be denial of the exemption. Should even the Tsunami notification be so complicated? The government failed to give a notification immediately after Tsunami and it should have been left at that instead of issuing complicated notifications. </font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">The notification required <br> <br> c) The approved construction agency shall file a claim for refund of the said duties paid on the said goods procured and utilized in construction of such houses by it on a quarterly basis, along with a <b><font color="#663399">consumption certificate for the said goods from a Chartered Engineer countersigned by the concerned District Collector or Sub-Divisional Magistrate and completion certificate from the District Collector to the jurisdictional excise officer</font></b>, within sixty days from the end of the relevant quarter, and such period may be extended by the jurisdictional excise officer by another sixty days: <br> <br> Now it is amended to stipulate that the refund claim can be claimed on a quarterly basis with a self certified consumption certificate. A great relief indeed! But wait; if you can fight Tsunami, you should be able to face government regulations. Now the certificate from the District Collector and Chartered Engineer are not required on a quarterly basis but can be filed after completion. Wait again; more is to come. The refund will be given only after the completion certificate from the District Collector and Chartered Engineer is produced. After the project is completed, don’t wind up your site; Do stay on there, get those certificates and claim that refund from excise or the better option is you can donate that refund to the Tsunami Relief Fund and be happy!<br> <br> <a href="http://www.taxindiaonline.com/RC2/subCatDesc.php3?subCatDisp_Id=30&filename=notification/excise/2005/etariff05_035.htm">NOTIFICATION NO. 35/2005-Central Excise, Dated: November 29, 2005</a></font></p> <p align="center"><font color="#006633" size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b>Save our heroes from temptations</b></font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">“A prominent Indian coach was jailed on a bribery charge. He has caught redhanded taking a bribe of Rs. 150,000/-. He punched one of the police officers on the face and tried to flee” reported the Special Broadcasting Service of Australia.<br> <br> “The Indian foot ball coach arrested for taking bribe will also be booked for assaulting a senior police officer” reported the Daily Times of Pakistan.<br> <br> The coach in question Subhas Bhowmick, ace India football player in the 70’s and the present coach of the famed East Bengal club in soccer crazy Kolkotta. Subhas is also a <b>Superintendent of Central Excise</b> in the Anti-evasion wing. <br> <br> His arrest has attracted attention in the National and International media, basically because of his fame as a foot ball player but substantially also because of the fact that he is an officer of the much maligned Customs and Central Excise department. <br> <br> The department can proudly claim to have in its rolls some very good sportsmen and of course some not so good ones. While the department should encourage the talented sportsmen and may be, even honour them with promotions and perks but in its own interest the department should also be very careful where these officers are posted. The really good sportsmen will hardly have any time for departmental work and when they are posted to sensitive positions like anti-evasion they are easily tempted into undesirable activities which would lead to such undesirable results. If it is true as reported in the International press that Subhas tried to punch the CBI officer on his face, perhaps CBI should be grateful that Subhas did not treat him like a foot ball. <br> <br> A reporter asked Subhas, “Did you conduct the mock raid alone or were there some other officials with you? “. His reply,” Are you deaf? Didn’t you hear what I said? The matter is sub-judice”. <br> <br> When famous cricketers are appointed as senior officers in banks, the job assigned to them closest to a banking transaction would be to autograph new account pass books. P.T. Usha can perhaps run faster than some of our trains. But the Indian Railways would never risk handing over the job of running trains to her. Protect our sportsmen. Let’s not post them in places where they will find it more lucrative to raid a factory than raid the opposite party in the playground. They are too precious to be picked up by CBI and every time such a thing happens, the sagging prestige of the department takes another nose dive.</font></p> <p align="center"><font color="#006633" size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b>Customs exploitation at airport – Issue raised in Parliament</b></font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"> A member from Kerala Mrs. P. Satheedevi made some serious charges against the Customs at the Calicut airport in the Lok Sabha last week. She said that passengers at the airport were exploited by a racket functioning there inclusive of high officials of the Customs department. Quoting press reports, she said that this racket is headed by a person nicknamed as the airport finance minister. Money and materials are being squeezed by the gang from poor passengers who are returning to their homes after long years of hard work in the Gulf countries. She quoted reports as that the racket is mainly at the cargo section, duty free shop for the dealings of money, valuable articles and even drugs and foreign liquor which is likely to encourage terrorist activities endangering national security as well. She wanted the government to initiate enquiry to find out the big shots behind the loot.</font></p> <p align="center"><font color="#006633" size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b>FDI vs remittances </b></font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">There is so much hype about Foreign Direct Investment but nobody talks of the real wealth flowing from abroad – remittances by Indians residing abroad. 15 years of reforms, which catapulted an economics professor to the PM’s office via the FM’s office, brought in $14 billion foreign investment in 2004-05 while Indians abroad remitted home $21.7 billion. May be this money does not go into the sensex or the industry and so gets no publicity. A large part of these inflows is being sent by people who have gone from Punjab, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala. Government should do something to see that this money is put to good use instead of jacking up the price of real estate. Prime Minister Man Mohan Singh is to launch the Universal Integrated Electronic Remittances Gateway at Hyderabad during next month.</font></p> <p align="center"><font color="#006633" size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b>Pakistan to import Mild steel structure from India </b></font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Commerce Ministry of Pakistan has amended the import policy to allow import of mild steel structures from India. The amendment permits import of mild steel structure from India at normal import duty of 25 percent, with immediate effect. The order has been issued to all Collectors of Customs for implementation. Previously, import of mild steel structure was allowed from other countries, except India. The amendment in Imports and Export Act was introduced on the special request of Federal Relief Commission (FRC) which wanted import of mild steel structure from India for earthquake-hit region. Mild steel structure can expedite construction work in earthquake hit areas. </font></p> <hr> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"> <font color="#663366"><b>"Competence, like truth, beauty and contact lenses, is in the eye of the beholder."</b></font> -- <i><b>Laurence J. Peter, The Peter Principle (1969).</b></i><br> <br> <b><font color="#663399">One doesn’t have to be competent in one’s job to be “competent” in corruption. The two types of competence are completely independent traits. In my career as a scientist, I have come across scores of extremely corrupt scientists but EXTREMELY INCOMPETENT AND IGNORANT as scientists. Their expertise in corruption -- not in science -- helped them to rise to the top in their careers. <br> </font></b><br> <b>According to Burk’s Law:</b> <font color="#663399"><b>“In medical administration, the scum always rises to the top; and the sacerdotal powers conferred on them make it impossible for the cream to rise to the top.” One can replace “medical” with “science “,” research or "academic" (or any other department)and the law will still hold good, if not better.</b></font></font> </p> <hr> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"> <font color="#FF6666"><b>Until tomorrow with more DDT</b></font></font></p> <p align="justify"><font color="#FF6666"><b><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Have a nice day. </font></b></font></p> <p align="justify"><font color="#FF6666"><b><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Mail your comments to</font></b></font><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"> <a href="vijaywrite@taxindiaonline.com">vijaywrite@taxindiaonline.com </a></font></p> </body> </html>