Don’t harass biri manufacturers – Board tells the field
As per Notification No. 3/2006 as amended by Notification No. 3/2007 dated 1.3.2007, biri manufacturers availing exemption up to clearances of Rs. 20 Lakhs are required to file a declaration at the beginning of every financial year giving particulars of name, address, details of manufacturing process undertaken by the manufacturer, quantity of biris manufactured in the preceding financial year, name and address of job workers manufacturing Biris on his account, and the number of Biris manufactured by each job worker or himself if any. Most of the biri manufacturers are illiterate and the declarations will have to be filled in by the excise staff. That will surely lead to unwelcome situations. So CBEC has instructed the staff that:-
1. The departmental officers should neither visit any manufacturer who has filed a declaration for conducting verification nor should summon him.
2. In case, intelligence inputs are received that a manufacturer has filed a false declaration, or has violated any other provision of law, then the jurisdictional Commissioner of Central Excise, with prior intimation to the zonal Chief Commissioner of Central Excise, may authorize a survey or such other action in order to detect any irregularity.
3. The jurisdictional Chief Commissioner and Commissioner should sensitize the staff to avoid any complaints of harassment.
4. Serious view would be taken of any violation of these instructions.
Have we gone back to the 18th century? What is all this about filing declarations by small time biri manufacturers? What is the department going to do with all these declarations? This declaration is to be filed with the Assistant Commissioner/Deputy Commissioner. The biri manufacturers are mostly situated in remote villages and it would be a difficult job for them to visit the Divisional offices. And the declaration for the current year is to be filed by 31.3.2007. Small biri manufacturers don’t actually read the pink papers or log on to fancy web sites. When will they know about this and what are the penalties for not filing the declaration? Denial of exemption obviously! Should the might of the Government come down so heavily on the small man?
CIRCULAR NO. , Dated: February 28, 2007