CBIC Weekly newsletter from Chairman, dated 01/12/2020

Ministry of Finance
Department of Revenue
Central Board of Indirect Taxes & Customs
North Block, New Delhi-110 001
Tel. No. : +91-11-23092849, Fax No. : +91-11-23092890
E-mail : ajit.m@gov.in

D.O.No.43/CH(IC)/2020 

Dated: 1st December, 2020

`Constitution Day’, while providing us an opportunity to express our gratitude to the architects of our Constitution, is also a day to seek inspiration from the spirit enshrined therein. The 71St Constitution Day of India was celebrated on 26.11.2020 by the Members of the Board by joining the telecast of the Hon’ble President of India in the reading of the preamble to the Constitution, as did the officers in the field.

The strategy for revenue augmentation was broadened last week by focussing on non-filers, stop-filers of returns and deemed registrations. DGGI and CGST Commissionerates have been playing a proactive role in containing the fake invoices racket and several arrests have been made sending a strong message to the fraudsters involved in this modus operandi. Meanwhile, it is also necessary to ensure that compliant taxpayers and fence-sitters are reminded of their obligation to pay taxes honestly and on time. To take stock of the situation and to obtain feedback on this issue, the Finance Secretary along with Members of the Board held a Video Conference with Zonal Chiefs on 24.11.2020. As decided therein, we need to vigorously pursue with taxpayers, mentioned in the list circulated by the Directorate General of Analytics and Risk Management to field formations, to pay taxes correctly and on time. Further, it is also essential to ensure that no applicant gets ‘deemed registration’ due to inaction on our part. The action, taken on these matters will be continuously monitored and the results evaluated. The technical issues raised by the Chief Commissioners of Vadodara, Meerut and Pune Zones have been noted and the Systems Directorate will work with GSTN to find a quick solution.

During the interaction with Zonal Chiefs, it was brought to our notice by the Principal Chief Commissioner CGST, Bangalore, that a GST Boot camp was conducted jointly by the CGST and the State GST Department of Karnataka on Quarterly Return Monthly Payment scheme (QRMP). In the said camp the MSME sector was also on board. This facility will reduce the return-filing compliance burden of the small tax payer substantially. Such action is timely and the holding of similar camps will enable the tax payers to auto-migrate to QRMP which is due to take off from 1st January, 2021. Other zones too can emulate this practice to ensure a smooth transition to the QRMP scheme.

I am happy to note that Ms. Reena Arya, Pr. DG, DGARM and her team of officers, had taken efforts in crystallizing DGARM’s journey and performance in the form of a booklet, the first since its inception. The booklet was released by the Board in the presence of officers and staff of DGARM. This succinctly provides an insight into their core functioning and achievements with regard to data analytics and risk management. I am also happy to note that, using indigenous analytical tools, DGRAM has generated inputs which has led to field formations detecting huge GST evasion and making sizable recoveries.

During the last week of November, 2020 Customs officers at FPO New Delhi have shown remarkable alertness. The seizures made by the officers are of pseudo-ephedrine weighing 11.8 Kgs, 5 cases of MDMA weighing 2.5 Kgs and 2 cases of Opium weighing 1.61 kgs. Pseudo-ephedrine was being smuggled to South Africa, MDMA to Australia, and Opium to UK. Another interesting drug bust was made by DRI. By using the powerful but rarely used legal tool of `controlled delivery’, they were able to convert a half-opportunity into a successful drug bust after some cat and mouse games. Two foreign nationals were among the three people arrested with a seizure of 396 grams of Heroin. While the quantity was small, the use of this technique is encouraging. I congratulate the officers of Delhi Customs and DRI for a job well done. DGGI and the Zonal officers and staff of GST Zones are equally worthy of praise for their hard work and the large number of fake GST invoice and fraudulent ITC claims cases being detected. Keep up the good work.

Last week Board had an occasion to honour two senior officers, Ms. Reena Arya, Pr.DG ARM, and Shri Anil Kumar Jain, Principal Chief Commissioner, Panchkula Zone, who were superannuating in November. They have since laid down their offices after a distinguished service of 34 and 33 years respectively. I wish them all the very best for their second innings I also wish a very healthy and happy retired life to all the other officers of CBIC who have superannuated in November.

To all others I would like to emphasise that, as we enter the last month of the calendar year, our focus should be firmly on revenue augmentation in the days to come. While the shortfall in our revenue target caused by the peak months of the lock down was substantial, we must concentrate on filling this gap to the extent possible by enforcing the law against tax evaders and reminding / persuading the law-abiding taxpayers to file their returns and pay their taxes correctly and well in time. The measures taken to facilitate the trade both on the Customs and GST sides should also be explained to the trade systematically.

Today is the first day of December and we need to re-boot ourselves for the onerous task ahead. I take this opportunity to wish you and your family one warm December of good health and happiness.

Your sincerely

(M. Ajit Kumar)

To

All Officers and Staff of Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs