Cadre restructuring: customs and excise dept accuses govt of discrimination -Governance Now

Cadre restructuring: customs and excise dept accuses govt of discrimination

While cadre restructuring of income tax department (CBDT) has already received green signal from the government, that of customs and excise (CBEC) is stuck

Brajesh Kumar | June 14, 2013

With the government giving a go-ahead to cadre restructuring of the central board of direct taxes (CBDT), the clamour for a similar exercise in the central board of excise and customs (CBEC), another arm of the finance ministry’s department of revenue, is increasing.

The delay, CBEC official said, is a clear case of discrimination against them.

“Although our proposal was cleared by the expenditure secretary about a week ago, it is stuck at the DoPT for no reason,” said Ravi Malik, general secretary of all-India association of central excise gazetted executive officers.

“It is a clear case of discrimination against the customs and excise department although it comes under the same ministry as the income tax,” he added.
The finance ministry issued the orders of cadre restructuring of CBDT on May 31. As part of the directive, 20,751 new positions have been created. The restructuring of the CBEC cadre, meanwhile, has been stuck for a while now.

CBEC officials said the government’s overt discrimination stems from departments dealing with indirect taxes, like customs and excise, as opposed to the income tax department that deals with direct taxes and has the power to go after anyone, including bureaucrats and ministers.

“Income tax officials have to be kept in good humour always, you see,” Malik said.

The CBEC restructuring, as and when it happens, will see increase the strength of group-B gazetted executive from the present 13,948 to 19,108, and group B non-gazetted executives from 20,163 to 25,203.

The government had earlier cleared the way for cadre restructuring of income tax on May 31. What is remarkable about the restructuring in CBDT is the creation of 26 new positions in the ‘apex scale’ (drawing a salary of Rs 80,000).

Until now the apex scale was only reserved for full secretaries of the government of India, special secretaries, and heads of police and forest forces in the country, besides members and chairman of the central board of direct taxes (CBDT).

Along with creation of 26 new positions, the new order has also redesignated existing chief commissioner of income tax (CCIT) as principal commissioner of income Tax (PCIT), a new nomenclature.

The total number of PCIT now approved is 300.

Comments

Other News

Before India voted, the framers worried about the referee

“We are making a Constitution forever and not only for today.” Shibban Lal Saksena said this in the Constituent Assembly on June 15, 1949. He was warning that a ruling party might one day choose a loyalist to run India’s elections. Seventy-seven years later, the Supreme Court is wrestli

Delhi moves to real-time traffic management

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA), chaired by prime minister Narendra Modi, has approved implementation of the ITMS Project by Delhi Police at an estimated cost of Rs.1,789.52 crore, inclusive of taxes. The project will cover 42 identified traffic corridors and will be implemented in three

MDR on UPI: Can sustainability come without weakening the network?

The extraordinary transaction volumes and value (₹29.82 Lakh crore in August 2026 alone) of the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) have made it not only an Indian success story, but a global one. In 2024, UPI accounted for nearly 49% of the world’s real-time payment transaction volume, with more th

The Xi-Trump summit: The unending rivalry

Diplomacy is akin to an art, wherein the summitry, conflict resolution and negotiations form apt constituents of the entire context of deal making and “playing for keeps” in the international arena. The Xi-Trump summit in Washington last week, in which the American president broke all conside

“Indians, yet treated like outsiders”

Moving to Delhi-NCR for education can be an exciting experience for students from Northeast India. It gives us a chance to meet new people, experience a different culture and become more independent. But living away from home also comes with challenges that people who have not experienced them may not al

Import duty on major edible oils cut

The government has reduced the Basic Customs Duty (BCD) on major imported crude edible oils with a view to moderating domestic edible oil prices, providing relief to consumers and mitigating inflationary pressures arising from the sharp increase in international edible oil prices.