THE DR

 

by

 

K. VIJAY KUAMR

MA,BL,MBA,B.Ed.

 

 

I do not know whose law it is but there appears to be a law somewhere that the honour and recognition one gets is inversely proportional to one's calibre and work. It is true in Central Excise too. A Range Inspector or Superintendent, a Divisional AC/DC, a jurisdictional Commissioner, officers working in preventive, audit and airports - well these are the upper castes of the department. They enjoy status, power, and frills of office and are the respected officers of the department. In a five star hotel, you only look at the beautiful receptionist not the dirty maid who made your bed. Other than the show pieces, the department has a large number of backroom boys, who are mostly relegated to the packing section, but who make the department run. The officers working in the Headquarters in sections like, technical, adjudication, statistics, legal etc; the additional/ joint Commissioners in the Commissionerates, the officers in the Board etc are the unsung, unheard heroes of the department. And most often they have to work under tough bosses who are quick to punish but very slow to reward. A hundred right things and you are told it is your duty; one wrong thing and you are through hell! The whole department is full of willing people. Half the officers are willing to work and the other half are willing to let them work.

The purpose of this article is neither to plead for the unsung heroes nor to praise them but to highlight one such group who are doing the maximum service to the department at the lowest cost. I would like to discuss about our great departmental representatives, defending our cases before the CEGAT.

Why do we lose so many cases in the Tribunal? Certainly not because of the inefficiency of our DRs. There can be several reasons, some of which are listed below.

1. The departmental cases are generally weak.
   
2. The original adjudicating authority is often prone to give a pro revenue order for fear of departmental vigilance action.
   
3. Some corrupt and clever officers in the department give orders in such a way that they cannot stand the test of a judicial scrutiny and are thrown out the moment it is admitted, but these officers are safe as they passed pro revenue orders.
   
4. There is no continuity and coherence in the department's defence
   

 

The case is detected by one officer, investigated by another officer, evidence gathered by a third officer, Show Cause Notice prepared by a fourth officer, approved by a fifth officer, case heard by a sixth officer, who passes an order after a few years of original detection when everybody has forgotten everything about the case. This case goes to the CEGAT and for the first time enters our DR, who is to defend the case based on the speaking order, which normally is fearfully silent on most vital issues.

Just have a look at the other party. He has a person who gave the first statement and perhaps a person who pursues the matter upto the CEGAT. At least he would be able to assist his lawyer. They have at least one person who has complete knowledge of the case.

 

In the CEGAT the Departmental Representative is often pitched against some of the top legal brains of the country, most of whom are retired officials of the department who know all the weaknesses of the department, who apart from drawing a good pension from the department, make tons of money fighting the department. They have access to all the information in print as well as through the electronic media and are highly paid. Against this, the DR is made to fight a lone battle with hardly any tools or rewards. The post is not even considered a prestigious one. Officers who want to work in the metros, plead, " I am ready to work even as DR". A junior AC in a division has access to a vehicle, phones, fax, computer, PA and a retinue of obedient and ever ready staff and obliging assessees, but the DR who has to defend the (OFTEN) bad orders are usually not provided with any of these facilities.

Most often, for the department, CEGAT is the final authority, because it is very difficult to go to either the High Courts or the Supreme Court. When cases worth crores are decided in the CEGAT, it is strange that our defence mechanism in the tribunal is not all that strong. Even very junior ACs who have never passed an order are sometimes posted as JDRs and they have to defend the orders of senior commissioners! And appearing on the other side may be a retired commissioner or Board member. In this scenario, even the few cases we win speak about the tenacity and dedication of some of our hard working DRs, who do an excellent job, for the love of the job and the nation.

 

I suggest the following to make the institution of DR strong and more effective. After all we are dealing with huge amounts of money and we should be careful.

 

1. Start a new DG for CEGAT in the rank of Chief Commissioner.
   
2. Select the best officers from the department with a degree in law irrespective of the cadre they belong to as DRs. Perhaps UPSC can be given the job of selecting suitable candidates, based on a written test and a personal hearing.
   
3. The DRs should be given a tax-free salary of Rs. One Lakh per month, two cars, with no restriction on movement or fuel (so that their spouses would not be accused of misusing office vehicles), telephones (including a cell phone), a computer at home with internet facility, unlimited number of books and periodicals, secretarial and legal assistants, both at home and office.
   
4. They should be of the rank of Commissioners. Once selected for the job, they will not be allowed to go back to the department or for any other job till retirement. The only promotion for which they would be eligible is the DG, who would get a salary of Rs. Two Lakhs and other perks.
   
5. The DRs would be eligible for and should be considered for being made judges of High Court and the DG should be considered for appointment as a Supreme Court judge.
   
6. They should be on constant watch by a team of experts, preferably retired judges and senior lawyers.
   

 

The above suggestions, if implemented would not actually cost much, but can really make the departmental defence really strong and thereby save a large amount of money for the Government. After all when the other side is well represented, we should also be equally well protected to protect our revenue.

 

EXCISE LAW TIMES – 15.06. 2001 – A 202