HIT ?

By Vijay Kumar

No violence meant, it only means HELPLINE FOR INDIRECT TAXES

The Directorate of Publicity and Public Relations of the Customs and Central Excise Department has devised a HELPLINE model under the SEVOTTAM Scheme.

This Directorate works on a time frame and had circulated its proposals to the Chief Commissioners for their comments and informed them that if their comments were not received by 1 st May, 2008, it would be assumed that the proposals have their tacit approval.

The Highlights of the scheme:

Each Helpline desk i.e. Customs, Central Excise, Service Tax and Technical (Electronic filing etc.) will have three helpline officers, two helpline heads and one helpline chief working on 24 X 7 days basis. No officer will be allowed to work for more than four hours on the helpline duty on any single day.

The officers eligible and certified to perform active duty in the helpline desk shall have to undergo rigorous written test and interview. In order to ensure transparency and avoid malpractices in selection, the whole selection process will be videotaped and will be available for inspection by any higher competent authority. As work in the helpline desk will require that the officers remain up-to-date with the latest developments in the department, selection will be valid only for the six months after which an officer will have to again go for written examination and interview if he is to continue to volunteer for service in the helpline centre.

Each helpline desk will be equipped with four CC TV cameras, 15 computers, sound amplification and recording systems, telephone/internet lines and required furniture. Initial cost for setting up these equipments in each desk is estimated to be below Rs. 50 lakhs.

Manner of functioning of helpline desk

The HELPLINE would try to give most satisfactory reply to almost all the queries irrespective of their nature. The helpline officer shall not, repeat shall not, shirk away from replying to technical questions involving interpretation of law as is the usual practice in the department at present. [Are we dreaming?] The officers shall be assured that no action will be taken against them if any of the interpretation or reply given by them is considered later to have not been legal or proper. C orrespondingly, it will also be made clear to the public that no penal action will be taken against an assesses if he acts bona fide on the advice or interpretation given by the HELPLINE. However, wherever duty or tax remain short paid on account of a helpline reply, such amount shall be payable with simple interest but without any penalty. Such a system will ensure that the helpline is in fact a helpline for the needy, without compromising in the matter of revenue. This system should not be confused with the advance ruling system in which the ruling is fully binding on both parties and there can be no recovery of duty short-paid on the basis of a ruling.

All incoming call will be amplified to the helpline officers, helpline heads and helpline chief, all of when shall sit together in the same room. Depending on the nature of the query. Helpline Chief may signal any of the helpline heads or officers to reply to the query, or may himself reply to the query. Where the query is of very complex nature, a call may be kept on hold, but for not more than five minutes in any case, for the officers is deliberate on the proper reply. If it cannot be done in some rate cases in these five minutes, the phone number and e-mail address of the person concerned will be taken down and he will be assured that he will be called back, or given reply by e-mail if he so desires, within next two hours at the most. If it is not possible to reply within next two hours, the concerned helpline chief shall withdraw himself permanently from the HELPLINE duties.

What a wonderful idea! You actually have Departmental officers answering your questions!