Weekly newsletter from Chairman, CBIC dated 20/06/2022

Government of India
Ministry of Finance
Department of Revenue
Central Board of Indirect Taxes & Customs
North Block, New Delhi-110 001
Tel. : +91-11-23092849, Fax : +91-11-23092890
E-mail : vivekjohri.irs gpv.in

20th June,2022

Chairman

DO No. 29/CH(IC)/2022

Amongst the many splendours of the natural world, the most joyous is perhaps watching birds. Darwin referred to birdsong as being the nearest analogy to language. He was right. There is much to learn from our avian allies. Pigeons have a genius for navigation that is far beyond our ken; Mockingbirds and Thrashers can learn and remember hundreds of songs; Scrub jays and Nutcrackers have a capability to remember where they put things that can make us eat crow!

Birding is certainly not a lame duck activity for the birds and the idea that birds are mere flying, pecking automatons with bird brains is a gone goose. With rapid deforestation and urbanization, the sheer joy of watching nature’s most beautiful creatures in their natural element is fast becoming a luxury. Recently, NACIN, Bengaluru Campus organized an Avian Census and birdwatching for budding ornithologists at the upcoming NACIN Campus in Hindupur. The group identified over 70 bird species! This baseline data on fauna at the Campus will help us preserve its ecology and biodiversity.

Meanwhile, construction work at the site has commenced and is picking up pace. In recent weeks, earth excavation for the foundation work of the buildings has begun and drone topography mapping of the entire site has been completed. It is exciting and satisfying in equal measure to see the project slowly come to life!

Moving on, it has been the endeavour of the Directorate of Systems & Data Management to enable EDI connectivity at all Customs locations. A number of such locations have been EDI enabled in the recent past. Last week saw the inauguration of EDI at the Moreh Land Customs Station on the Indo-Myanmar border in Manipur.

Being an important centre for cross border trade in the state of Manipur, the project was taken up by the State Government as a project under the Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav (AKAM) for the year 2021-22. My sincere Congratulations to Pr. Director General, Directorate of Systems & Data Management and his team for this successful conversion despite the odds.

A budgetary support scheme to reimburse certain domestic taxes to erstwhile beneficiaries of the area-based exemption from Central Excise duty in the North East and Hill States was launched when GST was introduced. To this end, I am happy to share that the target of Rs. 3903.92 Crore for the year 2021-22 under the scheme, has been utilized completely. This is largely on account of the hard work of our officers in the Directorate General of Performance Management and officers of the respective zones. This is yet another example of Sankalp se Siddhi!

On the Anti-Evasion front, officers of the Commissionerate of Customs (Preventive), Shillong interdicted 61 gold biscuits weighing over 10 kgs. and valued in excess of Rs. 5 Cr. Such seizures underscore our role as guardians of the economic frontiers.

I would also like to mention Paritosh Vineet Vyas, Assistant Commissioner, Ponneri Division of the Chennai Outer CGST 7 Central Excise Commissionerate for his suggestions related to structured engagement with Start-ups and MSMEs, especially to address compliance issues. He has also suggested enabling a web based conferencing platform to enable any departmental officer to join any departmental webinar/ online training. We are examining the suggestions. I would once again encourage officers to reach out with their suggestions and ideas at the Navachar email, chairman-cbicoffice@gov.in.

Before, I sign off for the week, I would like to share that one of our officers, Ms. Sruti Vijaykumar has been selected for the prestigious World Customs Organization (WCO) Career Development Programme for the year 2022-23. Many Congratulations Sruti! We wish you the best for an enriching and satisfying stint.

Till next week!

Yours Sincerely,

(Vivek Johri)

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