Finalization of the Draft of the Minutes of GBM dated 16.05.2015 Held at Rajkot: Reg.

Dear Comrades,

It is to intimate that all the respected members of this Association who participated in the aforesaid GBM have either expressly or impliedly approved the draft of the Minutes of GBM dated 16.05.2015 held at Rajkot, which was circulated today at 10:30 am on this Blog. In view of the same, the said draft has been finalized and is being submitted to the administration for favour of necessary action.

Thanks for all the support & co-operation,

With fraternal regards,

-Sd/-

(Rananjay Pratap Singh)

General Secretary 

Circulation of the Draft of the Minutes of the GBM held on 16.05.2015 at Rajkot: Reg.

DRAFT OF THE MINUTES OF THE GBM HELD ON 16.05.2015 AT RAJKOT

           At the outset, the President warmly welcomed the members of this Association as also applauded them for their enthusiasm & spirit and declared the meeting open.

          Thereafter, the General Secretary took up the Agenda of the Meeting one by one and invited the respected members to offer their views on the same. The resolutions passed on each of the Agenda are as follows:

(i)         Grant of revised Pay Scale in the Fitment Table of 7450-11500 to the Promotee Officers who joined in the grade of Inspector on 22.05.2008

The General Secretary brought to the notice of the members the concern of Promotee Officers who joined in the grade of Inspector on 22.05.2008 regarding anomaly in their Pay Scale. Some of the concerned officers also clarified the legal position in this regard.

All the members present over there, after due deliberation and discussion, unanimously resolved that the matter may be taken up with the Additional Commissioner (P&V), Central Excise, Rajkot for favour of necessary action.

(ii)    Evaluation of the performance of Executive Committee & its members especially with regard to membership drive

The General Secretary laid down the statistics of membership and financial position of the Association and underlined the need for hard work to strengthen the Association especially in Customs formations like Bhavnagar Division where not a single officer could be enrolled as a member of this Association in 2014-15. He expressed his worry about the casual approach of some of the members of the Executive Committee and advised them to perform their duties sincerely.

The Vice-President (Jamnagar) informed that despite authorizations being submitted to DDO’s, deductions are not being made at Customs (Preventive), Jamnagar.

All the members present over there, after due deliberation and discussion, unanimously resolved that the matter may be taken up with the Commissioner, Customs (Preventive), Jamnagar for favour of necessary action.

(iii)       Transfer/Rotation Policy for Central Excise, Ahmedabad Zone

The General Secretary explained the provisions of the Transfer/Rotation Policy for Central Excise, Ahmedabad Zone issued on 08.05.2015 in a very lucid manner, responded to all the queries raised and cleared all the apprehensions of the members.

All the members present over there, after due deliberation and discussion, unanimously resolved that the provisions of the Transfer Policy are well defined and expressed hope that the same shall be adhered to as well by the administration in letter & spirit.

(iv)        Transfer/Placement Policy for Customs: Gujarat Zone

The General Secretary explained the provisions of the Transfer/Placement Policy for Customs, Gujarat Zone issued on 10.06.2011, as amended on 27.04.2015 in a very lucid manner, responded to all the queries raised and cleared all the apprehensions of the members.

All the members present over there, after due deliberation and discussion, unanimously resolved that the provisions of the Transfer Policy are well defined and expressed hope that the same shall be adhered to as well by the administration in letter & spirit.

(v)        General issues concerning the Cadre

            Apart from the declared Agenda of the GBM, the members, with the permission of the Chair, discussed some general issues concerning the Cadre and the same are being summarized herein below:

(a) Detailed HOP to be posted on Commissionerate Website

               Some of the members made an observation that HOP has been posted on the websites of respective Commissionerates but, the same does not divulge the details i.e. exact charges held by the officers e.g. if posted in Divisional Office, then the section attended i.e. Legal /Technical/Statistics/Preventive/Rebate etc. with date of joining & relieving.

                  All the members present over there, after due deliberation and discussion, unanimously resolved that the administration may be requested to direct the concerned officers for maintaining HOP in a  proper manner leading to transparency.

(b) Sharing of “Due Lists” with Service Associations

     

Some of the members made an observation  that “Due Lists” of officers liable to be transferred & posted to Ahmedabad Sector, Customs, Audit-III Commissionerate, other Commissionerates within Rajkot Sector etc. may be shared with Service Associations, so that anomaly, if any, may be brought to the notice of the administration well in advance.

All the members present over there, after due deliberation and discussion, unanimously resolved that the administration may be requested to direct the concerned officers for making the “Due Lists” available to the Service Associations.

                 (c) Equal exposure between Central Excise & Service Tax

Some of the members made an observation that officers may be given equal exposure between Central Excise & Service Tax postings. Apart from this, tenure of officers in Service Tax may be restricted to 02 years and while posting of officers to Service Tax formations, priority may be given to those officers who have never worked in Service Tax. If an officer has not worked for a continuous period of 01 year, he or she may be treated as “Never Worked” for this purpose.

All the members present over there, after due deliberation and discussion, unanimously resolved that the administration may be requested to take into consideration the concerns raised regarding rotation to & from Service Tax formations as discussed herein above.

(d)Encadred SEZ’s tenure be counted in Commissionerate   tenure

    Some of the members made an observation that since, transfer & posting in an encadred SEZ is restricted for the officers of that particular Commissionerate, so logically, its tenure may be counted in the Commissionerate tenure e.g. after Cadre Restructuring, tenure at Reliance SEZ, Jamnagar & Adani Port & SEZ, Mundra may be counted in Rajkot & Kutch Commissionerates respectively and for the period before Cadre Restructuring, tenure of officers at both the said encadred SEZ’s may be counted in Rajkot Commissionerate.  

All the members present over there, after due deliberation and discussion, unanimously resolved that the administration may be requested to take into consideration the concerns raised regarding tenure at encadred SEZ’s as discussed herein above.

        The Meeting ended with a vote of thanks by the General Secretary.

Yours faithfully,

-Sd/-

(Rananjay Pratap Singh)

Copy submitted to:

(1)  The Chief Commissioner, Customs: Gujarat Zone, Ahmedabad for favour of kind information please.

(2)  The Chief Commissioner, Central Excise: Ahmedabad Zone, Ahmedabad for favour of kind information please.

(3)The Principal Commissioner/Commissioner, Central Excise, Rajkot/Bhavnagar/Kutch/Audit-III Commissionerate for favour of kind information please.

(4)The Principal Commissioner/Commissioner, Customs (Preventive), Jamnagar/Kandla/Mundra for favour of kind information please.

(5)  The National President/Secretary General, All India Central Excise Inspectors’ Association for favour of kind information please.

(6)  Notice Board.

Yours faithfully,

-Sd/-

(Rananjay Pratap Singh)

Note: All the respected members who participated in the aforesaid GBM dated 16.05.2015 are requested to go through the draft and offer their suggestions by 12:30 pm today itself after which the draft shall be finalized and submitted to the administration. 

Issuance of Final Seniority List as on 01.01.2014 in the Grade of Inspectors by CCA, Vadodara: Reg.

Dear Comrades,

It is to intimate that the Additional Commissioner (CCO), Vadodara has vide letter dated 11.05.2015 issued from F. No. II/34-08/CCO/2013 circulated the Final Seniority List as on 01.01.2014 in the Grade of Inspectors working under Cadre Controlling Authority, Vadodara. The Final Seniority List as on 01.01.2014 has been issued with the approval of the Chief Commissioner, Central Excise: Vadodara Zone, Vadodara and the same is available  on the website of CCO, Vadodara i.e. www.ccovadodarazone.gov.in. It is requested to go through the same and clerical errors like Spelling of Name, DOB, Category etc. may be brought to the notice of the competent authority for necessary corrections at the earliest.

With fraternal regards,

-Sd/-

(Rananjay Pratap Singh)

General Secretary

General Body Meeting to be Held on 16.05.2015 (Saturday) at Central Excise (HQ), Rajkot: Reg.

General Notice

A General Body Meeting is being convened to discuss the issues relating to welfare of the members of AICEIA (Rajkot Branch) with the following agenda:

1.   Fixation of Pay in PB-2 after granting revised pay structure of GP-4600 to Promotee Officers;

2.   Evaluation of the performance made by the Executive Committee & its Members especially in the area of Membership Drive;

3.   Discussion on the provisions of Central Excise Policy-2015;

4.   Discussion on the provisions of Customs Policy-2015;

5.   Any other issue with the permission of the Chair.

All the respected members of AICEIA (Rajkot Branch) are cordially invited to attend this General Body Meeting and to extend their helping hands to make this Association strong. Those Officers who have either expressly denied membership of this Association or have not yet taken membership may attend the GBM, but may not cast their vote, in case the situation so arises.

Time & Date: 10:45 AM/16.05.2015 (Saturday)

Venue: Conference Hall, 6^th Floor, Central Excise Bhawan, Race Course Ring Road, Rajkot-360 001.

With fraternal regards,

           Yours faithfully,

-Sd/- 

(Rananjay Pratap Singh)

General Secretary

Copy submitted to: The Administrative Officer (HQ), Central Excise, Rajkot for favour of kind information and with a request to permit the use of Conference Hall on the said date.

Guidelines for Transfer/Rotation for AGT-2015 Issued by CCO, Ahmedabad: Reg.

Dear comrades,

It is to intimate that Guidelines for Transfer/Rotation within Central Excise: Ahmedabad Zone including manner as well as criteria for distribution of officers to Customs: Gujarat Zone, Sectors viz Ahmedabad & Rajkot, Audit Commissionerates, Central Excise Commissionerates has been issued today i.e. 08.05.2015 by the CCO, Ahmedabad. It is requested to go through the same and in case of any difficulty, fell free to discuss with the undersigned or other Executive Committee Members. A meeting of the Association shall be convened at the earliest to discuss some important issues including off course the impact of these guidelines.

With fraternal regards,

-Sd/-

(Rananjay Pratap Singh)

General Secretary

Letter Dated 07.05.2015 Written by the Secretary General, AICEIA to Member (P&V), CBEC, New Delhi: Reg.

To,

The Member (P&V),

Central Board of Excise & Customs,       

North Block,

New Delhi-110 001.

Madam,

Sub: Non-observance of CBEC Guidelines Regarding Hon’ble Supreme Court Judgment in the Case of N R Parmar v/s. Union of India by many CCA's- Reg.

Please refer to the letter No. A-32022/06/2014-Ad.III A dated 08.09.2014 issued by CBEC, New Delhi regarding Inter-Se Seniority of Direct Recruit & Promotee Officers.

In this context, it is to submit that many Cadre Controlling Authorities have not yet finalized the Seniority List of Inspectors in light of the Hon'ble Supreme Court judgment in the case of N R Parmar v/s. Union of India. The CCA's of Central Excise & Service Tax Zones like Bangalore, Mumbai, Ranchi etc. have not prepared the Seniority List yet, despite the lapse of many months.

Many Inspectors of different Zones have been forced to move to CAT in order to get the said judgment implemented. For example, some Officers in the grade of Inspectors had to approach the Hon’ble Central Administrative Tribunal, Ahmedabad which granted a blanket stay on conduct of DPC, till Seniority List dated 01.01.2013 is revised in light of the said judgment of the Hon'ble Supreme Court. Finally, the draft Seniority List as on 01.04.2014 was prepared by CCA, Vadodara as per the guidelines of CBEC regarding the implementation of the Hon’ble Supreme Court judgment in the case of N R Parmar v/s. Union of India and was submitted to the Hon’ble Central Administrative Tribunal, Ahmedabad on 07.10.2014. Further, CCA, Vadodara vide its letter dated 14.10.2014 (copy enclosed) published the revised draft Seniority List as on 01.04.2014. However, the same could not be finalized as some of the Inspectors of 2003 Batch (Joined in the year 2005) subsequently approached the Hon’ble High Court of Gujarat for implementation of the said Hon’ble Supreme Court judgment in their case as well and the same is pending before the Hon’ble High Court, but it is pertinent to mention that no stay has been granted by the Hon’ble High Court on the Seniority List as on 01.04.2014 till date.

Madam, despite this Association's requests dated 28.04.2015 & 29.04.2015, the Chief Commissioner of Central Excise, Vadodara/Ahmedabad Zones are validating the "Seniority List as on 01.01.2013" for the purpose of calling willingness of Officers in the grade of Inspectors for Gujarat Customs in view of AGT-2015, instead of the "Seniority List of 2014".

Madam, this situation persists in many Zones (like Kolkata) where the Seniority List on the basis of aforesaid judgment of the Hon'ble Supreme Court has been prepared and circulated, but for promotion, AGT & other matters, the old Seniority List is being used.

In this regard, it is requested to issue suitable directions to the competent authorities for preparation & issuance of Seniority List in light of N R Parmar Judgment without further delay and issuance of ‘Due List’ of Inspectors for Gujarat Customs in consonance with the Draft Seniority List as on 01.04.2014.

Thanking you,

Yours faithfully,

 -Sd/-

(Abhishek Kamal)

Secretary General

Copy submitted to:

(1)  The Chief Commissioner, Central Excise: Vadodara Zone, Central Excise Bhavan, Race Course Circle, Vadodara-390 007 for favour of kind information please.

(2)  The Chief Commissioner, Central Excise: Ahmedabad Zone, Near Polytechnic, Ambawadi, Ahmedabad-380 015 for favour of kind information please.

(3)  The Chief Commissioner, Customs: Gujarat Zone, Custom House, Navrangpura, Ahmedabad for favour of kind information please.

(4)  The National Vice-President (Representing West Zone), All India Central Excise Inspectors’ Association, Rajkot with reference to his letter dated 28.04.2015.

-Sd/- 

(Abhishek Kamal)

Secretary General

Letter Dated 28.04.2015 Written by National Vice-President (Representing West Zone), AICEIA to CCA, Vadodara: Reg.

                                                         

 To,

The Chief Commissioner,

Central Excise: Vadodara Zone,               

Central Excise Bhavan,

Race Course Circle,

Vadodara-390 007.

Sir,

Sub: Preparation & Issuance of “Due List” of Officers in the Grade of Inspectors of Gujarat State in View of AGT-2015: Reg.

Please refer to the letter No. A-32022/06/2014-Ad.III A dated 08.09.2014 issued by CBEC, New Delhi and this Association’s letter dated 22.09.2014 & 09.03.2015 regarding Inter-Se Seniority of Direct Recruit & Promotee Officers in the Grade of Inspectors.

In this regard, it is learnt that the Seniority List dated 01.01.2013 regarding Officers in the Grade of Inspectors was revised and the draft Seniority List prepared by the administration in view of the Hon’ble Supreme Court judgment in the case of N R Parmar v/s. Union of India was submitted to the Hon’ble Central Administrative Tribunal, Ahmedabad on 07.10.2014. However, the same could not be finalized as some of the Inspectors of 2003 Batch (Joined in the year 2005) have subsequently approached the Hon’ble High Court of Gujarat for implementation of the said Hon’ble Supreme Court judgment in their case as well and the same is pending before the Hon’ble High Court.

Logically, the Seniority List which may be made the basis for preparation & issuance of “Due List” for Customs is the one which has been prepared & submitted by the administration to the Hon’ble CAT, Ahmedabad, approved by the Hon’ble CAT, Ahmedabad and which has not been stayed by any higher judicial forum. 

In this regard, it is once again requested to issue suitable directions to the competent authority for preparation & issuance of ‘Due List’ of Inspectors for Customs in consonance with the Draft Seniority List-2014 i.e. the latest draft as prepared & submitted by the administration to the Hon’ble CAT, Ahmedabad, approved by the Hon’ble CAT, Ahmedabad and not stayed by any higher judicial forum.

Thanking you in anticipation sir,

Yours faithfully,

-sd-

(Rananjay Pratap Singh)
National Vice-President

Copy submitted to:

(1)  The Chief Commissioner, Central Excise: Ahmedabad Zone, Ahmedabad for favour of kind information please.

(2)  The Chief Commissioner, Customs: Gujarat Zone, Ahmedabad for favour of kind information please.

(3)  The All the Commissioners of Central Excise/Service Tax/Customs, Ahmedabad/Vadodara Zone for favour of kind information please.

(4)  The President, All India Central Excise Inspectors’ Association, Kolkata for favour of kind information please.

(5)  The Secretary General, All India Central Excise Inspectors’ Association, Patna for favour of kind information please.

(6)  Notice Board.

Yours faithfully,

-sd-

(Rananjay Pratap Singh)
National Vice-President

Amendments in the Transfer/Placement Policy for Customs Dated 10.06.2011, as Amended: Reg.

MAJOR CHANGES EFFECTED IN THE CUSTOMS POLICY DATED 10.06.2011

The Additional Commissioner, CCO (Customs), Ahmedabad has through an Office Order issued vide F. No. II/3-2/Estt./CCO/2013 dated 27.04.2015 intimated this Association that certain amendments have been brought in the existing Transfer/Placement Policy for Customs Dated 10.06.2011. The noteworthy changes are as follows:

(i) Willingness system limited to 50% of the total vacancy at the time of AGT has been introduced for Kandla/Mundra Customs Commissionerates;

(ii) Willingness shall be called from the Officers of Central Excise Ahmedabad as well as Vadodara Zones;

(iii) Willingness should be given jointly for Kandla as well as Mundra Customs and the tenure, to the extent administratively feasible, will be of two years each for Kandla & Mundra Customs;

(iv) Only an Officer who has completed an immediate continuous working tenure of four years in Central Excise formation shall be eligible to give willingness;

(v) If excess willingness is received, then first preference shall be given to Senior Most Officer in that particular grade;

(vi) If sufficient number of Officers will not be available, then Officers will be selected as per Para 3 & 4 of the existing Transfer/Placement Policy;

(vii) Lady Officers shall be allowed exemption from outstation Customs postings, but only for AGT-2015 and exemption shall not be available from AGT-2016 onwards;

(viii) Initial posting in Customs shall be decided according to previous HOP of an Officer; and,

(ix) The tenure at the O/o of the Commr. (Appeals), Customs, Ahmedabad will be of two years.

Note: The purpose of this Blog is to disseminate information, however, the readers are advised to consult both the Transfer/Placement Policy for Customs Dated 10.06.2011 & 27.04.2015 for better understanding.

Request to Postpone & Re-Schedule the JCM dated 29.04.2015: Reg.

To,

The Commissioner,

Central Excise,

Rajkot.

Madam,

Sub:  Request to Issue Appropriate Directions to the Competent Authority to Postpone & Re-Schedule the JCM dated 29.04.2015 in View of the Non-Observance of Statutory Guidelines: Reg.

Please refer to the subject mentioned above.

In this regard, it is to intimate that Notice dated 22.04.2015 issued by the Administrative Officer (HQ), Rajkot regarding forthcoming JCM was brought to public Notice on 24.04.2015 whereby it has been informed that JCM has been scheduled at 12:30 pm on 29.04.2015 and the points, if any, regarding the same have to be submitted by the recognized Associations latest by 27.04.2015 itself.

The dates mentioned herein above establish that the minimum period prescribed between the date of Notice and the date of JCM has not been followed by the administration. Moreover, no fruitful purpose may be served by such JCM, scheduled in haste.  

In light of the above, it is requested to issue appropriate directions to the competent authority to postpone the forthcoming JCM and re-schedule it after providing sufficient opportunity to this Association to get the views of its members regarding grievances or suggestions, if any.

Thanking you in anticipation madam,

Yours faithfully,

-Sd/-

(Rananjay Pratap Singh)

Copy submitted to:

(1)  The Additional Commissioner (P&V), Central Excise, Rajkot for favour of kind information please.

(2)  The Administrative Officer, Central Excise (HQ), Rajkot for favour of kind information please.

(3)  Notice Board.

Yours faithfully,

-Sd/-

(Rananjay Pratap Singh)

Updates from the Visit of President & Secretary General to New Delhi:Reg.

Com. Anupam Neeraj, President and the undersigned were in Delhi from March 23^rd to 25^th, 2015 for meetings with the officers of CBEC, DGHRD,   7^th CPC and Office Bearers of other Associations. 

During the meeting with the Member (P&V), we submitted the resolutions passed by the Central Executive Committee at Kolkata and discussed all the resolutions in details. We also raised the issue of non-conducting of DPC for promotion to the grade of the Superintendent (CE) in Chennai Zone and Mumbai Zone.  The Member (P&V) called the Cadre Controlling Commissioner of Chennai Zone over telephone and asked the reasons for not conducting the DPC. Further, she told him to expedite the matter (even if they have to file MA in CAT) and conduct the DPC without any delay.  She also assured that the DPC in Mumbai Zone will also be taken up on the priority basis. We asked the outcome of the study conducted by the Study Group on Stagnation and Regional Disparity.  We were told the tenure of the Study Group is over and no further extension was granted to Sh. Prakash Chandra, Consultant.  So, the DGHRD and the ADG, Nacen, Delhi submitted its report to Board and the same is under consideration at the level of Member (P&V).  When approved, the report will be shared with the staff Associations and will be placed on the website.  We also discussed the GST and role of Inspectors in GST regime.  

Later, we met the DGHRD and we were told that the recommendations of the Study Group include the All India Seniority list of Inspector.  We discussed the matter related to one percent incremental scheme and Health Insurance Scheme.  We told her that the actual benefit should be passed on to our cadre too, who are working day and night to collect revenue. She told that the large amount of share of one percent incremental scheme goes to the vehicles used by the field formations. She accepted the fact that this should be checked and any misuse should be brought into the notice.  She told that this year more than 3000 mobile phones are being supplied to field formations from one percent incremental scheme and the same will be increased in coming days.  We discussed the biased draft RR of IRS, and discussed our demands in this regard.  The RR has already been forwarded by the Board after suitable recommendations to DoPT and we have to keep close watch on the progress so that the cadre should not suffer.  We had detail discussion on all the resolutions of Kolkata CEC and she asked us all the resolutions in individual letters along with the notes and relevant documents.  She assured us that she will also forward our specific demands along with Board's comments to the 7th CPC.  We told the DGHRD about our concern in GST regime and apprised her about our resolution regarding well defined duties & responsibilities of Inspectors' in GST regime. She assured us positive results as the department is going to face sea change.  She told us that the DGHRD has not published any study material on GST yet however they are recommending the departmental officers the book - Background Material on GST, published by The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India and available at- http://www.icaiknowledgegateway.org/media/k2/attachments/ICAI-Background_Material_on_GST.pdf   Further, we asked about the status of our previous correspondences on Abolition of Uniform.  The DGHRD told us that they have recommended the abolition of Uniform from Central Excise and the same is under progress.  Later, we also met Sh. Metta Rama Rao, President, IRS Officers' Association and discussed many issues.

Com. Devendra Kumar, Liaison Secretary was also present during the meetings.  

This time, we met the Under Secretary and Secretary 7th CPC on 24th and 25th of March 2015.  We discussed our specific demands with the 7th CPC.  The 7th CPC asked us about the data related to other cadres of Central Excise also, as only we (from Central Excise) approached the 7th CPC yet (except Gr. A Promotee Officers Association).  Moreover, our department also not approached the 7th CPC yet.  We presented our specific demands and they were convinced that we are having poor pay scale and poor promotional avenues as well.  Hence, the 7th CPC assured us that these facts will be kept on record while submitting the recommendations.  We have been told that we will again be called by the 7th CPC during April, 2015.   

Thanking you,

Yours fraternally,

Sd/-
Abhishek Kamal
Secretary General