Why not Financial Powers to Commissioner (Appeals)?
Next to the DRs in CESTAT, the most humiliated cadre in Central Excise and Customs is the Commissioner (Appeals). He sits in a Commissionerate and most often, the jurisdictional Commissioner who is a virtual prince treats the Commissioner (Appeals) as dirt. The poor Commissioner (Appeals) has to depend on the Jurisdictional Commissioner even for that white paper, which is quite often denied to him. Every Commissioner (Appeals) I speak to has volumes of woes against the territorial Commissioner who wields the strings of the purse. A Commissioner (Appeals) tells us that he walks to work - not for health or austerity - because he is not provided with a car and there is no reliable public transport and he can't afford a cab. He has made several representations to his Chief Commissioner, but with no result. A jurisdictional Commissioner, who had gone out of his way to be rude to the Commissioner (Appeals), is now the Commissioner (Appeals) and is at the receiving end - the roles are reversed. Of course the Commissioner (Appeals) has forgotten his old foible and is now angry that the jurisdictional Commissioner who is far junior to him is haughty and denying him basic facilities. Every Commissioner who humiliates a Commissioner (Appeals) should realise that one day he may also end up as a Commissioner (Appeals). Small men occupying big posts?
Be that as it may - the Board/Government should seriously think of revamping the institution of Commissioner (Appeals).
1. First of all the Commissioner (Appeals) should be delinked from the control of the jurisdictional Chief Commissioner. We have so many DGs - let there be one more - A DG (APPEALS)- All Commissioners (Appeals) should be under the DG and not the Chief Commissioner.
2. They should have separate and adequate funds allotted to them so that they are not at the mercy of the local Commissioners for their small needs. When the ADGs in DRIDGCEI, AUDIT, NACEN, Inspection etc, have their independent offices and funds, why should Commissioner (Appeals) be a poor appendage to a Commissioner?
3. Preferably the Commissioner (Appeals) office should not be in the premises of the Commissionerate.
4. The Commissioner (Appeals) should function like a Court and more transparently. Proceedings should be open to public and orders - at least the operative part, should be dictated in the open court.
5. Senior Additional Commissioners should be posted in the CESTAT as DRs and on promotion they should be posted as Commissioners (Appeals). This will make them more judicial minded.