Central GST inspectors seek to reinstate ICT policy
11 May 2020 09:42:30
Business Bureau :
Due to the closure of the ICT facility for inspectors in the Department, many inspectors have resigned from their job and many are on the verge of doing so in the near future
On the one hand, due to the corona epidemic the Central Government and the State Governments at their own expense are bringing back home the Indian citizens living abroad, people working in other States and students studying away from home. On the other, there are Government departments in the country where employees cannot be transferred from one State to another even on completely genuine grounds. It may be noted that the facility of Inter-Commissionerate Transfer (ICT) for inspectors in the Central GST and Customs Department was discontinued some time back whereas other cadres of the Department still continue to enjoy this facility. In the wake of the global Corona epidemic, inspectors of the Central GST and Customs Department have requested for the revival of cadre welfare schemes like Inter-Commissionerate Transfer through the Inspectors Association.
All India Central GST Inspectors Association General Secretary Anubhuti Chatterjee and Chairman Akhil Soni informed through a letter dated May 7, 2020 to the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC), New Delhi that inspectors posted outside their home States were already under mental stress due to the closure of the Inter-Commissionerate Transfer facility. At the moment their mental health has started to worsen amid the corona crisis. This is having negative impact on their performance which is adversely affecting the tax collection as well.
The President, Inspector Association, Nagpur Circle Chandan Singh Yadav said that ICT has been a cadre welfare scheme of this Department established a very long time ago and it is still operational for all other cadres of the department. But the ICT has been banned for the inspector cadre only which is making them feel oppressed and discriminated against. Due to the closure of the ICT facility for inspectors in the Department, many inspectors have resigned from their job and many are on the verge of doing so in the near future. To stay close to their homes, some of them have joined other departments at even some lower category of posts. Due to this, there is a drain of talent from the department and there is a decrease in the number of skilled employees.
If this practice continues in the prevailing manner, the working efficiency of the department will decrease significantly, which will adversely affect the tax collection because the Inspector cadre is the most important executive officer working at the grass root level in this department. In one of the biggest socioeconomic crisis in of our lifetime, all Governments are deferring many of the economic benefits to its employees. Restarting cadre welfare schemes like Inter-Commissionerate Transfer can increase the efficiency of Inspectors which can boost the productivity of the department and tax collections could also witness a considerable rise. Therefore, the Assn demands that the ICT policy should be reinstated as soon as possible.