Latest on Restructuring of Field Formations in CBEC, Other News

The Inter-Ministerial consultation on CR proposals of CBEC has been completed. Issues raised by other Ministries have been responded to by the CBEC, and thereafter the Draft Note for Cabinet prepared by the DGHRD/CBEC has been approved by the Finance Minister. It is expected that the Note will be placed before the Union Cabinet and  the CR proposal approved in the next two -three weeks. 

Meanwhile, to address the long standing problems including that of stagnation in the Gr B  executive cadres, and for better management of human resources, it is learnt that the Board is consulting the National Productivity Council, and also making a detailed reference to the DoP&T, and considering engaging specialist consultancy agencies to suggest workable remedies to these problems within the overall existing  regulatory framework governing personnel matters. The AICEIA has communicated to the Board / Ministry that concerns and opinions of Associations must necessarily be taken on board while formulating or altering such policies. Well reasoned and detailed proposals in this direction have already been submitted to the Board.   We stand resolute in our demand that there should be a time -bound scheme of promotion for Gr B executives in the CBEC, and regional disparities in promotions from Inspectors to Superintendents among different Cadre Control Zones should be done away with forthwith. There is no dilution in our demand for parity among the three (base) feeder cadres for promotion to the Gr A entry level posts, and  that promotional avenues as available to other comparable cadres in Central Government service should be open to us too.  

In the case of granting Grade Pay of Rs 5400/- to Inspectors on completion of  four years of service after getting first ACP, Shri M. Subramaniam, erstwhile General Secretary of the Salem Branch of the AICEIA filed a contempt petition in the Madras High Court against the Department for not implementing the High Court Order despite the Supreme Court not staying the same. Following that, the Ministry has ordered that the benefit be allowed to Shri Subramainam. Meanwhile AICEIA is seeking legal advice on how  to go about  pursuing the case in the wake of the Supreme Court effectively turning down our Application for early hearing in the Civil Appeal filed by the UoI challenging the subject Order of the Madras High Court.

Ajit Kumar K G

Secretary General           

Happy Diwali

The All India Central Excise Inspectors' Association wishes all members and the entire Central Excise fraternity a very happy Deepavali.
A. Satish
President

Meeting with Revenue Secretary, Other Recent Developments

An appointment was sought from the Revenue Secretary

Following this, appointment was given on 25th October '13. A delegation of office-bearers of the AICEIA met the RS accordingly, and apprised him of the concerns of the cadre, especially the acute stagnation and regional disparities in promotions, and also suggested measures - immediate and long-term - to address these grave issues that have remained neglected for long. A representation was also handed over to the RS.

    The Revenue Secretary has assured appropriate action to redress the cadre's grievances.

AICEIA office-bearers also met CBEC officials and pursued the other issues too, which still remain unaddressed.

It is learnt that the draft Cabinet Note prepared by the Board and sent, after the Finance Minister  approved the same,  to the Ministry of Law, the Deptt of Expenditure and the DoP&T for their comments,  will be sent latest by 05.11.2013 to the Union Cabinet.

Ajit Kumar K G
Secretary General 

Supreme Court Hearing Update

The Application for early hearing in the Rs 5400/- GP for Inspectors on completion of 4 years after grant of first ACP was heard in the Supreme Court today by the Chief Justice's  Bench. The CJI observed that since no Interim Orders had been passed earlier in the case, and since mostly it was in cases of 2008/2007 or earlier that early hearing was being  considered, it is too early in our case to allow such an application. The CJI also suggested that such an application may be filed next year. Accordingly our Counsel withdrew the Application. More details to follow.
Ajit Kumar K G
Secretary General     

Supreme Court Case - Rs 5400 GP to Inspectors on completion of 4 years after grant of 1st ACP, News on CR

The AICEIA is fighting a case on behalf of Shri M Subramaniam, erstwhile General Secretary of the Salem Branch of the AICEIA . The case relates to entitlement of Grade Pay of Rs 5400/- to Inspectors on completion of 4 years after they get their 1st ACP. The Government has filed a Civil Appeal challenging the Madras High Court Order favouring Shri Subramaniam, and the same is pending  before the Supreme Court.  As per decision of the Central Executive Committee of the AICEIA, an application for early hearing was filed in the case, and the same is coming up for hearing before the Supreme Court on 21.10.2013. Senior Counsel has been engaged in the case to represent the party Respondent.

News regarding CR is that the Cabinet Note has been approved by the Finance Minister, and it is expected that the same will be placed before the Union Cabinet shortly.

Meanwhile this Association's efforts to highlight the plight of the Gr B Central Excise executives regarding acute stagnation continue at all levels in the maximum effective manner. We are very hopeful of permanently doing away with the shamefully appalling regional disparities in promotions that exists among Inspectors of different Cadre Control Zones very soon, and that would indeed be a very important step towards our ultimate aim of achieving parity in promotions among all 3 cadres ( POs & Examiners of Customs, and Inspectors of Central Excise) and securing for ourselves avenues for career advancement comparable with those available to analogous cadres in other departments.

Ajit Kumar K G
Secretary General

Recent Developments

It is learnt that minutes of the meeting of the Committee of Secretaries held on 27.08.13,  in which the CR proposal of the CBEC was approved, have been issued and the Cabinet Note prepared by DGHRD, CBEC will now be presented before the Union Cabinet, once it is forwarded by the Finance Minister. It can be expected that sometime in October’13 this proposal will get approval from the Cabinet. In anticipation of that, preparations are already afoot in the Board, particularly in the DGHRD for expeditious implementation of the proposals.

Com A I Abbasi, Joint Secretary (North Zone) of the AICEIA  has reported that on 28.09.13 he had occasion to meet the Union Minister of State for Finance (Revenue) during the latter’s visit to Lucknow . He has submitted a representation to the Minister highlighting the pathetic plight of Inspectors of Central Excise, the abysmally poor promotion prospects available to us, coupled with the huge intra-cadre and inter-cadre disparities in promotions in the CBEC, and suggesting pragmatic solutions to such vexatious issues. Com. Abbasi has informed that the Minister, after giving a patient hearing , has assured that the CR in the CBEC would significantly address some of these issues, and for the others he will initiate necessary action.

The AICEIA remains steadfast in its commitment to the cadre it represents on its repeatedly reiterated objective - removal of stagnation, and doing away with the regional disparities in promotions across different cadre control zones.This Association shall not rest till this stigma on our cadre is wiped off, and if need be, we are prepared to launch a massive agitation programme on any indication that the injustices perpetrated on this cadre in earlier rounds of restructuring, especially on the worst stagnating Zones, may not be undone even this time around. We see this as a very important milestone on the road to radically improving promotion prospects for Inspectors, and bringing in parity in promotions among the three cadres of Inspectors of Central Excise, Preventive Officers of Customs, and Examiners of Customs. That the combined length of service in the Gr B Executive Grades should be the criteria to determine who gets promoted first to a  Gr A entry level post is an oft-repeated stand of the AICEIA. This, and the demand to accord parity among the three feeder cadres retrospectively as a condition precedent to merger of the three streams has been unequivocally communicated to the Board several times, and these facts find specific mention in the Board records. We have been relentlessly pursuing this at the highest levels of the Board and the Ministry, and shall continue to do so, despite detractors with vested interests trying hard to derail our efforts. It is as a result of this Association’s concerted efforts that removal of Regional Disparities in promotions within the Central Excise stream of Gr B Executives is receiving deservedly prime attention from the CBEC now. 

Keeping in line with the priorities decided by the present Central Executive Committee of the AICEIA, national office bearers have been undertaking extensive tours frequently to various parts of the country to directly interact with members even in the farthest corners of the nation, as part of our efforts to strengthen the organization at the grassroots level, and to enhance membership. At all these locations, the response to the meetings organized by AICEIA’s Branches/ Circles has been overwhelming. Particularly encouraging is the active participation of younger Inspectors in most formations, and the keen interest evinced by them in Association activities augurs well for the future of this collective. The seniors among the AICEIA office bearers at all levels must foster young, energetic and committed new leadership, and immediately start sharing important organizational responsibilities with them to ensure that the Association does not face a crisis when en-masse promotions are effected whenever CR gets implemented. 

Enriching interactions with so many Superintendents, some of whom hold important offices in their Association too has been a welcome development seen at most of these meetings all across the country. 

I must laud the efforts of Com. Dilip Pandya, JS(WZ), Com Prashant Mishra at Surat and Com Chetan Shah at Ahmedabad for their efforts in enhancing membership and striving to bringing back the Association to the earlier position of strength that it enjoyed in Gujarat. Very special Congratulations to Com Kishor Kumar and Com S Ramesh for their hugely successful attempts to revive the Vadodara unit of the AICEIA, which was defunct since quite a few years. Com Ashish Biswas, Treasurer of the AICEIA and GS Raipur Branch, Com Prakash Gaidhani , GS of our Nashik Branch, and Com Devender Kumar, GS of our Tirupati Branch and the new AICEIA JS(SZ) also have been joining us in some of these tours and making valuable contributions. Com Abhay Singh VP(NZ) has made a phenomenal effort to revive the organization in Rajasthan, where membership had dwindled over the years, but now it stands at a very respectable level, despite the acute stagnation and extremely difficult working conditions being faced in that Zone. Also noteworthy are the valuable contributions of our Working President Com Samir Sinha, and the young Circle Secretary of Bihar and Jharkhand, Com Abhishek Kamal. Above all, Com Shishir Agnihotri , our National Liaison Secretary, who has been instrumental in setting up a robust organization in Mumbai as General Secretary of the Mumbai Circle of the AICEIA , must be thanked and congratulated since he has always found time to be part of AICEIA teams at most places, besides being a resourceful and articulate representative of the AICEIA at meetings with the Board officials. 

Committees which have recently assumed office are:

Kanpur Branch of the AICEIA

 President        Com S.K.Mohan

 Vice President     Com Alok Kumar

 General Secretary  Com Shiv Kumar

 Joint Secretaries:- Com  Manini Bajpai,  Com A.M.Mehrotra,  Com V.K.Soni, Com Rajesh Dubey

 Office Secretaries  Com  Vimal Joshi  & Com Pramod Suman

Treasurer   Com L.K.Pandey

Rajasthan Circle of the AICEIA

Com B L Meena - President

Com Anil Gupta - Vice-President

Com Abhay Singh - General Secretary

Com Akshat Sharma - Joint Secretary

Com Alok Mathur - Asstt General Secretary (CE, Jaipur-I)

Com Manoj Verma - Asstt General Secretary (CE, Jaipur-II)

 Com S. K. Saran - Asstt General Secretary (Customs)

Com S.N. Sutrarak - Finance Secretary 

Vadodara Unit of the AICEIA ( Interim Committee elected unanimously, till formal elections are held)

Com S.Ramesh - President

Com  Arun Kumar - General Secretary

Com  Gopesh Shah - Vice President

Com  Rahul Sharma - Vice President

 Com Rajnanda Mohite - Joint Secretary

Com Pushpendra Singh - Joint Secretary 

With Fraternal Greetings,

Ajit Kumar K G

Secretary General

LATEST ON CR

Office bearers of the AICEIA met senior officials of the Board at New Delhi on 23rd September. It is learnt that minutes of the meeting of the Committee of Secretaries are still awaited and no sooner than those are issued, the draft note to be put up before the Union Cabinet will be sent for the Finance Minister's approval by the DGHRD/CBEC. Our Board does not apprehend the recently announced austerity measures to come in the way of the CR proposal getting through.
AICEIA has again impressed on the Board the need to urgently address the issue of stagnation and regional disparities, and we have once again been assured that the CR would certainly be implemented in a manner doing away with this at least in the Inspectors' cadre.
In the past few weeks, All India office bearers have undertaken extensive tours to various parts of the country to strengthen the organisation. Meetings were held at Hyderabad, Rajkot, Surat, Daman, Ahmedabad, Baroda, Jamshedpur and Jaipur. All these meetings were well attended and membership of the AICEIA has seen a huge surge in recent times. Details of new Committees which have assumed office recently in some Circles/Branches  will be posted here soon.
A. Satish
President