[UPSC Interview Prep Feed Vol.11] Land Bill Basics

Topic : Land Bill Controversy.

Basic Funda

Land Reforms have been talked since time immemorial even before the inception of the civil service and ergo apparently all the civil service aspirants that ever existed have gone through the pain of understanding and mugging up reforms. And so shall we and so shall the rest.

So what is Land Acquisition?

Land acquisition is the process by which the government forcibly acquires private property for public purpose without the consent of the land-owner. It is thus different from a land purchase, in which the sale is made by a willing seller. So far this has been governed by the archaic Land Acquisition Act 1894 but there were several problems with this act.

1. There was no provision for fair compensation.
2. No provision for rehabilitationa and resettlement.
3. There was no clause of taking or even listening to the public concent.
4. Many cases where the then acquired land was not used for the stated purpose and was then sold to private entities resulting in windfall loss to the original owners of that land.
5. Overall draconiam in nature.

To rectify this dilemma came the Land Acquisition, Rehab, Resettlement Act (LARR) 2013. But then you might question when "LAND" is a state subject, why should Parliament make a law? Well folks, the devil is in the details. Well, “acquisition and requisitioning of property” is in the concurrent list. Both Parliament and state legislatures can make laws on this subject. And in case of conflict the Union Law would prevail. That we all know!

What the LARR Act 2013 changed?

1. It clearly defined the controversial clause of "Public Purpose" so as to stop the abuse.
2. It introduced the concept of Public Conscent fromt the affected families where 80% was required for private projects and 70% in case of PPP.
3. Under the "Sociai Impact Assessment", it was also required to get consent from the labourors, farmers, craftsmen, fishermen, tenant farmers, share-croppers whose livelihood would be affecrted because of the proposed project.
4. It categorized compensation as 4 times the rate in rural areas and 2 times the rate in urban areas.
5. To ensure the food security angle, it was made clear that multi-cropped fertile land can only be acquired as the last resort and in case this happens the govt. was obligated to develop an equivalent wasteland.
6. State govt. to set up Dispute settlement authorities.
7. If the project doesn't start in 5 years, the land to be returned to the original owner.
8. Both land acquisition and resettlement and rehabilitation provisions of the Bill will apply to projects when government acquires land for its own use or on behalf of private companies for stated public purpose, including PPP projects. In case companies directly acquire over 40 ha from land owners, they will be responsible for resettlement and rehabilitation.

But then, rather than the applause what this resulted into was this....

1. The process as a result of these provisions became so difficult and cumbersome that it stalled all the proposed land acquisitions.
2. It made the whole thing totally impractical and ridiculously complex.
3. It was easy to mobilize 30% of the affected families against the acquisitions.
4. As land records were not present for quick dosposal, all of it seemed senseless.
5. Willing people couldn't sell. Willing takers couldn't take. And rest is history.

So as to rectify this now we have the Right to Fair Compensation and transparency in land acquisition, rehabilitation and resettlement 2015 Bill popularly known as the Land Bill and the related controversy. Lets see what are these provisions....

1. This creates five categories viz. Defence, Rural Infrastructure, Affordable Housing , industrial corridors and infrastructural projects. 
2. And then exempts these five categories from the provisions of public consent of 80% in case of private projects and 70% in case of PPP projects.
3. The bill also exempts these five from the Social Imapact Assessment and from the restrictions from the acquisition of irrigatted multi-cropped land.
4. This bill changes the wordings "Private Companies" to "Private entities" which would now mean that under it also comes the corporations and Non-Profit organizations. Thus unbridled expansion in the scope of coverage.
5. Now one of the obstables to provide compensation earlier was the fact that the govt. would have to amend all acts like the Railways Act, Electricity Act etc. So here they have provided that under all these laws the compensation will be on the lines of this new land bill.
6. This also includes that building Private Hospitals and Private educational institutions would be covered under the garb of "Public Purpose".
7. The provisions on relief and rehabilitation remain the same as earlier.
8. Immunity has been given to the head of the department so that he cannot be prosecuted and take decisions not fearing the media and the judiciary.

Issues with 2015 Bill

1. The "Immunity" Clause can give free hand to the authorities and in the process it would become difficult to ensure fairness.
2. The five special categories can eventually cover all projects thus negating the impact of the earlier provisions. Defence is one category wherein one can underrstand the urgengy of things and the relevance of quick decision making but rest of the categories can be provided with some degree of consensus for the affected community.
3. This should get the approval of parliament and not take the ordinance route. We do not want to see the ordinance raj especially with concerns to such an important topic.

Present Status

As of today, Lok Sabha has passed this bill and since Rajya sabha was prorouged, a copy of the earlier ordinance was promulgated and hence the controversy.

[UPSC Interview prep feed Vol.10] Black Money

Guest Post by His Majesty Yogesh Unde!

Topic :  Black Money !

Background -HSBC Black money whistle blower HERVE FALCIANI's revealations in  2008 led to biggest breach in banking security. His information reveals how HSBC helped wealthy clients evade taxes and violate  financial laws. In 2010 the french government gave Delhi a list of more than 600 Indians who held accounts at HSBC in GENEVA. The list DOUBLED in 2014 when fresh investigation of falcani's data led to SWISS leaks which revealed that HSBC in Geneva helped clients in more than 200 countries evade taxes on accounts containing $119 billion. This raises big question mark over BLACK MONEY in INDIA and debate revolving around it.

 DEFINITION -  BLACK MONEY/WEALTH may consist of income generated from legitimate activities or activities which are illegitimate per se like smuggling, illicit trade in banned substances, counterfeit currency,arms trafficking,terrorism and corruption etc.

BLACK MONEY can be defined as assets or resources that have neither been reported to public authorities at the time of generation nor disclosed at any point of time during their possession.

BLACK INCOME as the aggregates of incomes which are taxable but not reported to the tax authorities. They also include legal income that is concealed from public authorities.

  ( A) to evade payment of taxes (income tax,excise tax,sales tax,stamp duty etc)

  (B) to evade payment of other statutory contributions.

   (C) to evade compliance with other laws and administration procedures.

BLACK MONEY GENERATION THROUGH ACTIVITIES 

  1) criminal activities (a) racketeering (b) trafficking in counterfeit and contraband goods (C) smuggling (D) production and trade of narcotics (E) forgery (f) illegal mining (g) illegal felling of forests (h) illicit liquor trade (i) robbery (j) kidnapping (K) human trafficking (l) sexual exploitation and prostitution (m) cheating and financial fraud (n) embezzlement (o) drug money (p) bank frauds 

(q) illegal trade in arms (r) activities under prevention of money laundering act of 2002 (s) the corrupt component of such money could stem from bribery and theft programmes.(t) black marketing of price controlled services (u) altering land use regularising unauthorised construction.

Ways of generation black money.

 (1) land and real estate transactions- under reporting of transaction price in the form of stamp duty and capital gains tax

(2) bullion and jewellery transactions

(3) financial market transactions

(4) public procurement

(5) non profit sector

(6) informal sector and cash economy 

(7) external trade and transfer pricing

The illicit money transferred outside money may come back to INDIA through various methods such as hawala,mispricing,foreign direct investment(FDI) through tax jurisdiction,raising of capital by indian companies through global depository receipts(GDR). INVESTMENT THROUGH innovative derivative instruments are making profits without being subject to taxes.,like Participatory notes may not be adequately covered by regulatory mechanism and their oversight and hence have potential for misuse.

   

According to WORLD BANK DEVELOPMENT RESEARCH GROUP 20.7 % (of GDP) is black money in India in 2012. Estimates of black money stashed abroad according to Swiss external ministry  and Swiss bank  are 9295 crore rupees in year 2010. A total of US $ 213.2 billion shifted outside India from 1948-2008.

INSTITUTIONS TO DEAL WITH BLACK MONEY 

(A) Central board of direct taxes-  a)policy making

                                                 b) assessment

                                                 c) investigation

                                                 d) collection of information

                                                  e)collection of information involving cross border transactions.

(B) Enforcement directorate under FEMA 1999 investigation and prosecution of money laundering act 2002

(C) Financial intelligence unit

(D) Central board of excise and customs and DRI

(E) Central economic intelligence bureau

JOINING THE GLOBAL CRUSADE AGAINST BLACK MONEY 

    (a) India's action through G20 DTAA(direct tax avoidance agreement)

(b) global forum

(c) multilateral convention on mutual administrative assistance in tax matters

(d) financial action task force

(e) united nations convention against corruption

(f) united nations convention against transnational organised crime

(g) international convention for the suppression of the financing of terrorism

(h) united nations convention against illicit traffic in narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances.

CREATING APPROPRIATE LEGISLATIVE FRAMEWORK

 (a) STRENGTHENING direct taxes provisions including those relating to international taxation and transfer pricing.changes in finance act of 2011 to check the menace of black money

(b) creating network of DTAA(DIRECT TAX AVOIDANCE AGREEMENT)AND TIEAS (TAX INFORMATION EXCHANGE AGREEMENT.) as per international standard

(c) prevention of money laundering act 2002

(d) prevention of benami transactions

(e) public procurement bill objective of ensuring transparency,accountability,and probity in the procurment process

(f) prevention of bribery of foriegn public officials bill

(g) lokpal and lokayukta bill

(h) citizens grievance redressal bill the right of citizens for time bound delivery of goods and services and redressal of their grievances bill 2011

(i) judicial standards and accountability bill

(j) whistleblowers bill

(K) direct payment into bank accounts of payees

(l) unique identity (UID) aadhar

(m) amendment t0 the NDPS ACT narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances (AMENDMENT BILL)2011.

 SETTING UP INSTITUTIONS FOR DEALING WITH ILLICIT MONEY

 Particulariy to check cross border flows is setting up institutions to deal with the problem

(a) DIRECTORATE OF CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION (DCI)  the dci is mandated to perform functions in respect of criminal matters having any financial implication punishable as an offence under any direct taxes law.headed by director general of income tax (criminal investigation) and functions under administrative control of CBDT.

(b) CELL FOR EXCHANGE INFORMATION (EOI) works on the mutual cooperation

(c) INCOME TAX OVERSEAS UNITS

(d) Strengthening of investigation division of CBDT

DEVELOPING SYSTEM FOR IMPLEMENTATION

(a) Integrated taxpayer data management system and 360 degree profiling utilized for investigation of tax invasion complaints and for developing cases for search and seizure actions

(b) setting up cyber forensic labs and work stations

(c) the computer assisted investigation tool

(D) goods and services tax network (GSTN) set up a special purpose vehicle for providing shared infrastucture and services for GST

(e)  committee on black money

THE WAY FORWARD

(A) REDUCING DISINCENTIVES AGAINST VOLUNTARY COMPLIANCE

(a) rationalisation of tax rates

(b) reducing transaction costs of compliance and administration

(c) further economic liberalisation

 (B) Reforms in vulnerable sectors of the economy

(1)Financial sector fine tuning of financial regulation,oversight mechanism,vigilance machinery

(2) real estate

 (3)cash economy -regulation of the possession and transaction of cash above a particular threshold limit

(4) mining and allocation of proper rights for natural resources-transparency,public accountability,appropriate price discovery mechanism

(5) equity trading KYC norms

(6) misuse of corporate structure for generation of black money

(7) non profit organisation and cooperative sector -create database,apply KYC norms

(C) CREATION OF EFFECTIVE CREDIBLE DETERRENCE 

  (a) important role of monitoring agencies

(b) strategy to strengthen direct tax administration

(c) strengthening of the prosecution mechanism

(d) enhance exchange of information 

(e) income tax overseas units -facilitate international cooperation in areas of exchange of information,transfer pricing,and taxation of cross border transactions.

(f) international taxation on transfer pricing

(g) effective curbing of structuring through tax heavens

(h) strengthening of indirect tax administration

(i) strengthening financial intelligence unit

REPATRIATION OF BLACK MONEY STASHED ABROAD

  (a) United nations convention against corruption -ratified in 2012 corruption money can be seized and repatriated

(b) DTAA direct tax avoidance agreement

(c) Multilateral convention on mutual administrative assistance in tax matters -ratified in 2012

(d) stolen assets recovery is a partnership between the world bank group and UNODC (UNITED nations office on drugs and crime)

(e) TIEA tax information exchange agreement

(f) mutual legal assistance treaty(MLAT)

[UPSC Interview prep feed Vol.9] NITI AAYOG

Topic: NITI Ayog

Planning Commission (PC) -Firstly, lets start with the long gone Planning commission. It was a non-constitutional and non-statutory body which had the mandate to prepare the approach paper and draft five year plan. It facilitated multi-level, multi-stage and multi-agency planning. We needed a commission sort of body as the process requires greater level of Division of Labour(DOL). But there was lot of criticism surrounding this body - Domination of Prime Minister, bypassing the cabinet, political interference, it overshadowed the role of Finance Commission, there was no direct accountability, facilitated vertical federalism etc.

Do we still need planning then? Yes, for the marginalized sections of the society; For ensuring sustainable development; for spatial planning; balanced regional development; Strategic Vision;


After the scrapping of PC, this role is being currently undertaken by the Finance Ministry. And subsequently it will be passed to the NITI Ayog. For starters, one should know what it stands for. National Institution for Transforming India. Few Pointers about this new body....

1. This new economic think-tank, manned by domain experts, has been constituted to provide strategic and technical advice to the Centre and the State governments on key policy matters. The Planning Commission also did this but allegedly in a heavily centralised, big-brother way suited to a command economy. 

2. It hopes to replace the one way Centre-to-State flow of policy with ‘cooperative federalism’. The NITI Aayog will now recommend policies. Their implementation will be up to the governments

3. Importantly, unlike the Planning Commission, the NITI Aayog does not have the power of allocating central funds to States. This will now be done by the finance ministry.

4. The governing council of the NITI Aayog has on board the chief ministers of all the States and lieutenant governors of the Union Territories. This council, in its first meeting, decided to undertake a review of centrally sponsored schemes — whether they should be continued, transferred to States or scrapped.

5. The Aayog will recommend a national agenda, including strategic and technical advice on elements of policy and economic matters. It will also develop mechanisms for village-level plans and aggregate these progressively at higher levels of government

Structure of NITI Aayog:

Prime Minister of India as the Chairperson.

Governing Council comprising the Chief Ministers of all the States and Lt. Governors of Union Territories.

Regional Councils will be formed to address specific issues and contingencies impacting more than one state or a region. These will be formed for a specified tenure. The Regional Councils will be convened by the Prime Minister and will comprise of the Chief Ministers of States and Lt. Governors of Union Territories in the region. These will be chaired by the Chairperson of the NITI Aayog or his nominee.

Experts, specialists and practitioners with relevant domain knowledge as special invitees nominated by the Prime Minister.

The full-time organizational framework will comprise of, in addition to the Prime Minister as the Chairperson:-

i. Vice-Chairperson: To be appointed by the Prime Minister.
ii. Members: Full-time.
iii. Part-time members: Maximum of 2 from leading universities research organizations and other relevant institutions in an ex-officio capacity. Part time members will be on a rotational basis.
iv. Ex Officio members: Maximum of 4 members of the Union Council of Ministers to be nominated by the Prime Minister.
v. Chief Executive Officer : To be appointed by the Prime Minister for a fixed tenure, in the rank of Secretary to the Government of India.
vi. Secretariat as deemed necessary.

Major Objectives:

1. NITI Aayog will seek to provide a critical directional and strategic input into the development process.
2. The centre-to-state one-way flow of policy, that was the hallmark of the Planning Commission era, is now sought to be replaced by a genuine and continuing partnership of states.
3. NITI Aayog will emerge as a "think-tank" that will provide Governments at the central and state levels with relevant strategic and technical advice across the spectrum of key elements of policy.
4. The NITI Aayog will also seek to put an end to slow and tardy implementation of policy, by fostering better Inter-Ministry coordination and better Centre-State coordination. It will help evolve a shared vision of national development priorities, and foster cooperative federalism, recognizing that strong states make a strong nation.
5. The NITI Aayog will develop mechanisms to formulate credible plans to the village level and aggregate these progressively at higher levels of government. It will ensure special attention to the sections of society that may be at risk of not benefiting adequately from economic progress.

Cons:
1. Lack of clarity ---ongoing plan. many States have requested the Union Government that now that this new structure is here, it should for the time being continue the work carried out earlier by Planning commission as the determination of annual funds and allocation of funds is quintessential for the States to proceed with their Plans.
2. What will happen to social sector spending? As earlier it was tied to various Centrally Sponsored Schemes and not that States would have more fiscal discretion, there is no guarantee that they would continue doing so.
3. Fiscal prudence and frugal innovation missing in States. Especially some of the newly formed states who at this moment might not be financially viable and are dependent on the Union govt. for guidance and monitoring.
4, There is also this view that would a think tank at Union level would make sense. Assam has put forward that the "Make In India" campaign would hardly be any use for it as there is no industrial base there. Plus, Kerala has raised the issue that scheme like "Beti bachao" and "jan Dhan" would not benefit the state as the state has already achieved targets in these domains.
5. The opposition parties has labelled it as a mere "name-change" exercise!

UPSC Interview 2015 Questions

Chattar Singh Board

CH : Spelling of your name is interesting (hoped he doesn't investigates into it :) )

L: Yes, I was also thinking the same....

Thankfully, this issue was ignored like last...

CH: Showing my photo, its you?....

CH: What are you currently doing.... a bit puzzled as DAF contained details as on the day of filling DAF when I was working with my previous organisation....

CH : Usual qns... when did you join IRS, where are you undergoing training,components of training....

CH : About previous organisation.... Controller of Certifying Authorities, DeitY... about Digital Signatures

CH: Why we are performing so well in Software yet lagging behind in hardware sector...

CH : NITI Aayog vs Planning Commission... is it merely change of label or something substantial...?

CH : Organisational Changes in the new NITI Aayog...

Passed to M2..... I was a bit surprised !

M2: Our performance educational and health standards are poor... do you agree? What changes you suggest... Answered based on ASER report, Amartya Sen and Dreze's article putting growth in its place, etc. suggested increasing expenditure from 3.3 % to 4.9 %.... newer methodolgies like Indian versions MOOCs leveraging Digital India infra... Health again : Amartya Sen and Dreze's article provided basis... comparison of India vs Bangladesh... HLEG recommendations... Rural Medical Assistant Model of Chhattisgarh and Assam, linking PHCs to important hospital via NOFN... M2 appeared satisfied...

M2 : Railway appointed a committee with Ratan Tata... what are your views...

Told him that I missed this news item about this committee... but I believe that already many committees, like Sam Pitroda Committee, Kakodkar Committee have been formed and submitted their reports... rather than appointing a new committee again , it is better to consider reports of earlier committees and act upon acceptable recommendations.... Committee after Committee argument seemed to satisfy M2......

M2 : Crimes against women.... why can Police do you reduce....

M2 : Kerala vs Haryana... why difference in crimes against women....

CH passed on to M1...

M1 : Why Police is failing in performing its functions times.... reading Prakash Singh helped a lot in answering this question.... tracing back to Police Act,1861 after revolt of 1857 ... Britishers intention of making it a “Politically useful” force... failure to replace the Colonial Act with reformed version after independence..... Political intervention in functions.... understaffed Police 30 % shortage.. etc etc....

M1 : Judgement about Police Reforms...

Gave six points given by SC in Prakash Singh case....

M1 : If states don't bring necessary reforms, what changes individual police officers can bring...

M1 : How can technology help in Policing.....

M1 : Again about Digital Signatures and Regulations of Certifying Authorities...

M1 : what is the difference between Make in India and Made in India.... M3 and everyone else had a good laugh......

M1 : Asked some question which I was not able to comprehend... something like If India provides facilitative environment, skilled workforce, matching investments, etc etc... what is still lacking for attracting electronics hardware industry....

I tried answering … predictable tax regime, nokia case etc.... M3 perhaps wanted something more

CH passed onto M3...

M3 : why you opted for psychology...

M3 : Your Favourite Psychologists... and their works... Carol Dweck and Albert Ellis...

M3 : Some Indian Psychologists....

M3 : We have Army then why we need Paramilitary Forces/CAPF.... Thanks Swapnil :)

M3 : Why do we need so many Paramilitary Forces/CAPF.....

M3 : Whom do you regard as greatest Security Strategist of Independent India....

M3 : Contributions of Nehru and Sardar Patel....

M3 : Did Nehruji committed mistakes by taking Kashmir issue to UN and China issue.....

(maintaining a balance in this answer was getting difficult)

M3 : Contributions of Indira Gandhi...

M3 : What was the name of 1974 test.... why we called it “Peaceful explosion”, 'Buddha Smiling”

M3 : Apart from Political initiatives... how can Police Reforms be implemented.... cited contempt petition filed by Prakash singh and role of judiciary....

CH passed onto L

L : Quality of Computer Science and Engineering education in India.... what can be done to improve upon it....?

L : Is neglect of Humanities responsible for this ?

L : Contributions of Steve Jobs..... I am a supporter of Free and Open Source and criticised Steve Jobs for taking Computing in wrong direction.... though gave some of his “innovative” ideas... L realised that it was not a comfortable question for a FOSS supporter.....

L : Do you think that extra-judicial killing justified in some rare circumstances.... ?

L : Why so many custodial deaths in the country....?

Vinay Mittal Board

1. What are you presently doing in customs? Which ports did you visit and what did you see. 
2. Is Bangalore a port? What is the special equipment used at ICD to manage freight? 
3. Your hobby is caring for elderly? What do you do in it? 
4. What is GST?  How will it impact the Indian economy? What are the taxes that would be subsumed under GST?
5. what is food security Act? 
6. What is PDS system? 
7. What is Niti Aayog
8. Name all the disasters that India is prone to.? How will you manage in case of earthquake.  Pre disaster and post disaster? how will you manage a drought? How will you manage floods? What is the preparedness level to manage floods in india? 

H C Gupta  Board

Q: why IAS?
Q: why not join an NGO?
Q: mnrega?
Q: BPL and APL, MSP?
Q: why IAS after Adobe?
Q: how will u construct a road after funds are given to you?
Q: agragian movements post independence?
Q: any research work that you are currently doing?
Q: any IAS that u know?
Q: how will u empower women in ur district?

Manbir Singh Board

1. You come from such a prestigious school(sainik school kunjpura), why didnt u go to NDA?
2. How u got motivation for civil services?
3. What are the problem u've seen in ur area?
4. How to ensure women empowerment?

1. Tell me some famous names from ur school?

2. You told now the world is multipolar, what was it before?
3. Why couldn't u clear ssb?

1. What is positivism in sociology?
2. Difference between Comte's and Durkheim's positivism?
3. Relevance of positivism in modern sociology?

4. There is growing urbanisation and industrialisation in Haryana... And land is acquired for these purposes.. What is the general perception there.?

David R. Syiemlieh Board

Set 1

Q. Tell me something about richter scale?

Q. What do you think is the status of Delhi vis-à-vis earthquake preparedness?

Q. Why do you think old Mughal monuments are earthquake resistant?

Q. Where have you volunteered?

Q. You belong to Agra and Agra is a dirty city. You are a town planner, how will you make it clean?

Interviewer 1

Q. Tell me three important qualities of a public servant? Discussion on those qualities…

Q. What would you have done in case of Jantar Mantar demonstration, where a farmer committed suicide?

Q. What do you read?

Q. Given your hobby is reading and travelling, have you read any travelogue?

Q. Name any Indian traveler?

Interviewer 2

Q. What are the requisites for the success of Swachh Bharat Abhiyan?

Q. What are the planning solutions to solid waste disposal?

Q. Tell me something about smart cities?

Q. How will you make the cities smart?

Interviewer 3

Q. What are the major attributes of leadership?

Q. Is public servant an administrator or leader?

Q. Suppose an ordinary person walks into the office of a public servant, what does the person expects from the public servant?

Q. The qualities that you said a public servant should have; a politician should also have the same qualities. What is then the difference between the two?

Interviewer 4

Q. Tell me the pros and cons of NGT’s decision on banning of diesel vehicles in Delhi?

Q. How will you improve the situation of air pollution in Delhi?

Q. Discussion on Delhi’s BRT?

Q. Discussion on Metro in Delhi?

Chairman

Q. The government has now deregulated diesel prices. What more can be done to stop the diesel-ification?

Set 2 

1. Taking a year off (EOL) – What is the biggest issue in taking the year off?
2. Cut to the chase – What are your preferences considering that you are already in the service?
3. Why do you want to join IFS? You would need to pick languages for IFS? Tell me 2 languages you would pick – one, literature-wise and the other work-wise.
4. What makes you as a person suitable for such cross-cultural and multi-lingual communication?
5. How long have you been with revenue services? What is the training on?
6. What are the problems faced by exporters and importers in India? Is the department doing anything for that? What steps is the government taking for the same?
7. Does e-biz portal have anything to do with customs? Can you tell me how
8. Digital India would help customs and/or exporters and importers?
9. Which is Kerala’s biggest port? Is Kochi working to capacity? Why not? What is being done to enhance its operations? How will Vizhinjam help in getting us traffic?
10. You enjoy watching cricket? Please tell us why.
11. Your preferences again, please. Is a move to IRS-IT from your current service a vertical or a horizontal move? Ans. Horizontal. Why would you move, then?
12. IFS being your first preference, which region (like Europe, Africa, etc) wouldyou like to work? Why? In that region, which country?
13. Do you know what connects Argentina to World War II?
14. Since your optional is history and you have an interest in foreign affairs,
15.  can you compare the current situation in west asia with the India of 200-300 years ago?
16. What is Vangabang?
17. Can you list out all the colonial powers who had established themselves in India  and in which regions?
18. Why is RBI resisting the demands for reduction in interest rate?
19. What is money laundering? How is it done? How does Overinvoicing, as you have mentioned convert black money to white money? Can black money be related to Underinvoicing? Please explain. If black money is moved from one part of the country to another in the same country, will that be considered hawala? Are you aware of the domestic informal money transfer system?
20. What is duty drawback?
21. Why is Kerala called God’s own country? On a lighter note, Is Kerala tea better than Assam tea?
22. In Kerala, the level of water in the backwater is higher than the height of the agricultural land. How do they maintain that?

[UPSC Interview Prep Feed 8] Economic Challenges for Aspirational India

Topics Discussed: D P Kohli Memorial Lecture by Sh. Arun Jaitley (organised by CBI). The topic was "Economic Challenges for Aspirational India". I think some of the points he raised were thought provoking and can be useful in the interview. Sharing with you the same and little analysis over them...

• Refelecting the pathetic state of forensics in the country are the figures shared in the lecture. "Only in 5-7% of the cases , we see the use of forensics". It's ironic how we can talk about improving the quality of investigation in our country without improving the state of forensics. This must start at the institutional level. We must have special institutions imparting training in forensics and carrying out research.
• "Our Taxation process has to be simpler to increase tax buoyancy. Our taxation policy has to be non-adversarial. The government does not intend to tax people retrospectively".
• "The corporate tax structure has to be globally competitive and that is why the government has proposed to reduce it from 30 to 25 per cent in this year's Budget".
• "Decision-making has to be much quicker. The process of political consensus has to be statesman-like and mature. Credibility of Indian decision making is being questioned globally. Moreover, 90% of decision making is by executive which unfortunately engages in the Passing the parcel game and in writing non commital notes".
• "Agriculture as well as infrastructure sectors face serious challenges due to lack of investment. Highways programme has slowed down and investment has not come in railways. We have to invest Rs 70,000 crore in infrastructure sector and that is why we have to little delay the fiscal road map". And ergo, the govt. has delayed the objective to achieve the desired range of fiscal deficit. By spreading it over three years, the govt. will have more to invest in the above mentioned areas.
• Meanwhile, he said there is a need to revisit certain provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988. This important act predates the Economin Reforms of 1991 which altogether changed the framework of the bureaucracy. Phrases like "corrupt means", "public interest" and "pecuniary advantages" have to be redefined in the present context to differentiate between the act of corruption and honest error.
• "Many agencies can falter. Nobody is expected to be perfect. Country cannot afford to see two institutions-- judiciary and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI)--to be imperfect". Even the people of India have great regard for these two institutions and their disfunction can broaden the trust deficit between people and the State as a whole. 
• He also talked about the idea of "Assessee as a partner in development". Great words indeed. If all the tax authorities keep this framework in mind then definetely we can achieve the dream of non-adversarial taxation soon enough.
• Showing optimism about the global economy he said "Global oil prices are going down and this should mean the redistribution of wealth across the globe".
• Talking about the capital inflows to India he said "Capital is sufficient, but not adequate" which further means that there is a long way to go and lots of ground to cover.
• He also emphasissed on the need to have a "Bankruptcy code" something which the Budget also talks about. In this era of entreprenearship and venture capitalist, this is something which is quintessential.
• Referring to the rise of e-tailers he said "Largest retailers today don't own a retail shop" and hence which such changing dynamic situations the regulatory framework should also keep on evolving itself. 
• He said "Make in India canot just run on patriotism" which is very right as this scheme is not there to promote jingoism. The govt. must facilitate the availability of raw materials and other facilties for the domestic industry to make the dream come true.
• "Agricultural income should go up and number should come down. And the solution is IRRIGATION". He said that it has economic and political benefits . Giving the example of the Narmada Project, he expalined how MP and Gujarat both have benefitted largely.
• "The Aspirational Class beneath the Middle class is really restless". We have all been talking about how India has this demographic dividend and how Japan and China are getting older and older. But just the rhetoric will not help and it's high time to convert this rhetoric into something substantial.
• "India's potential is of double digit growth". Let's hope that the global perception of India improves with the politically stable regime and we get the results from the "Make in India" dream to reach the double digit growth!

Jai Hind!

UPSC Interview Prep Feed Vol.7

Topics Discussed: Budget 2015

The most important part i guess. But then it also requires a lot of effort. And ultimately you remember just a few pointers at Dholpur House. So why not just focus on the important pointers.

Introduction.

• Most growth forecasts have upgraded Indian economic growth while downgrading global economic growth.
• Three Key achievements: Financial Inclusion - 12.5 crores families financially mainstreamed in 100 days; Transparent Coal Block auctions to augment resources of the States.;Swachh Bharat is not only a programme to improve hygiene and cleanliness but has become a movement to regenerate India.

State of Economy

• CPI inflation projected at 5% by the end of the year, consequently, easing of monetary policy.
• GDP growth in 2015-16, projected to be between 8 to 8.5%.

 Amrut Mahotsav - The year 2022, 75th year of Independence. Vision...

• Housing for all - 2 crore and 4 crore houses in urban and rural areas respectively.
• Basic facility of 24x7 power, clean drinking water, a toilet and road connectivity.
• Electrification of the remaining 20,000 villages including off-grid Solar Power.

Fiscal Roadmap

•  Government firm on journey to achieve fiscal target of 3% of GDP.
• Accordingly, journey for fiscal deficit target of 3% will be achieved in 3 years rather than 2 years. The fiscal deficit targets are 3.9%, 3.5% and 3.0% in FY 2015-16, 2016-17 & 2017-18 respectively.

Agriculture

• INR 5,300 crore to support micro-irrigation, watershed development and the ‘Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchai Yojana’. States urged to chip in.
• INR 25,000 crore in 2015-16 to the corpus of Rural Infrastructure Development Fund (RIDF) set up in NABARD; INR 15,000 crore for Long Term Rural Credit Fund; INR 45,000 crore for Short Term Co-operative Rural Credit Refinance Fund; and INR 15,000 crore for Short Term RRB Refinance Fund.
• Need to create a National Agriculture Market for the benefit farmers, which will also have the incidental benefit of moderating price rises. Government to work with the States, in NITI, for the creation of a Unified National Agriculture Market.

Micro Finance

• Micro Units Development Refinance Agency (MUDRA) Bank, with a corpus of INR 20,000 crores, and credit guarantee corpus of INR 3,000 crores to be created.
• In lending, priority will be given to SC/ST enterprises
• MUDRA Bank will be responsible for refinancing all Micro-finance Institutions which are in the business of lending to such small entities of business through a Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana.

Social Security

• Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojna to cover accidental death risk of INR 2 Lakh for a premium of just INR 12 per year.
• Atal Pension Yojana to provide a defined pension, depending on the contribution and the period of contribution. Government to contribute 50% of the beneficiaries’ premium limited to INR 1,000 each year, for five years, in the new accounts opened before 31st December 2015.
• Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana to cover both natural and accidental death risk of INR 2 lakh at premium of INR 330 per year for the age group of 18-50.

Infrastructure

• National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF), to be established with an annual flow of INR 20,000 crores to it.
• Atal Innovation Mission (AIM) to be established in NITI to provide Innovation Promotion Platform involving academicians, and drawing upon national and international experiences to foster a culture of innovation , research and development. A sum of INR 150 crore will be earmarked.
• Ports in public sector will be encouraged, to corporatize, and become companies under the Companies Act to attract investment and leverage the huge land resources.
• 5 new Ultra Mega Power Projects, each of 4000 MW, in the Plug-and-Play mode

Financial Market

• Public Debt Management Agency (PDMA) bringing both external and domestic borrowings under one roof to be set up this year.
• Forward Markets commission to be merged with SEBI.
• Government to bring enabling legislation to allow employee to opt for EPF or New Pension Scheme. For employee’s below a certain threshold of monthly income, contribution to EPF to be option, without affecting employees’ contribution.

Green India

• Target of renewable energy capacity revised to 175000 MW till 2022, comprising 100000 MW Solar, 60000 MW Wind, 10000 MW Biomass and 5000 MW Small Hydro.

Budget Estimates

• Gross Tax receipts are estimated to be 14,49,490 crore. 
• Devolution to the States is estimated to be 5,23,958.
• Fiscal deficit will be 3.9 per cent of GDP and Revenue Deficit will be 2.8 per cent of GDP.

Tax Proposals

• No change in rate of personal income tax. 
• Proposal to reduce corporate tax from 30% to 25% over the next four years, starting from next financial year. 
• Rationalisation and removal of various tax exemptions and incentives to reduce tax disputes and improve administration.

Key features of new law on black money

♦ Evasion of tax in relation to foreign assets to have a punishment of rigorous imprisonment upto 10 years, be non-compoundable, have a penalty rate of 300% and the offender will not be permitted to approach the Settlement Commission. 

♦ Non-filing of return/filing of return with inadequate disclosures to have a punishment of rigorous imprisonment upto 7 years. 

♦ Undisclosed income from any foreign assets to be taxable at the maximum marginal rate. 

♦ Mandatory filing of return in respect of foreign asset. 

♦ Entities, banks, financial institutions including individuals all liable for prosecution and penalty. 

♦ Concealment of income/evasion of income in relation to a foreign asset to be made a predicate offence under PML Act, 2002. 

♦ PML Act, 2002 and FEMA to be amended to enable administration of new Act on black money.

Make in India and Customs

• Basic Custom duty on certain inputs, raw materials, inter mediates and components in 22 items, reduced to minimise the impact of duty inversion. 
•  All goods, except populated printed circuit boards for use in manufacture of ITA bound items, exempted from SAD. 
• SAD reduced on import of certain inputs and raw materials. 
• Excise duty on chassis for ambulance reduced from 24% to 12.5%

Swatch Bharat

• 100% deduction for contributions, other than by way of CSR contribution, to Swachh Bharat Kosh and Clean Ganga Fund. 
•  Clean energy cess increased from INR 100 to INR 200 per metric tonne of coal, etc. to finance clean environment initiatives. 
•  Excise duty on sacks and bags of polymers of ethylene other than for industrial use increased from 12% to 15%.

Increase in basic custom duty:

♦ Metallergical coke from 2.5 % to 5%. 

♦ Tariff rate on iron and steel and articles of iron and steel increased from 10% to 15%. 

♦ Tariff rate on commercial vehicle increased from 10 % to 40%.

[UPSC Interview Prep Feed Vol.6] New Foreign Trade Policy 2015

Topics Discussed: New Foreign Trade Policy

As we are one of the most important facet of trade facilitation and the fact that this policy has come out just recently, this becomes all the more important for the forthcoming interviews. So instead of going through the bulky policy here are few important pointers...

1. Time Period-The time period of policy is 2015-2020.
2. Objectives-One of the basic objectives of the policy this time is the promotion of manufacturing and service exports and greater use of the Free Trade Agreements (FTAs). This goes in line with the these of "Make in India" and the promotion of the manufacturing sector which we apparently missed and jumped straight to the Services Sector.
3. Value Added imports-Another new feature this year is the promotion of "Value-Added Imports". Now this certainly is creating confusions all around but as per some news reports this again is a tool for reinforcing the manufacturing of final product in India. For clarity shall come later as it would transform into some scheme and subsequently we can update it here.
4. Key Sectors-The key sectors to be focused in Manufacturing Sector are - Engineering Products, Electronic Goods and Textile Exports. These are in fact the top sectors when it comes to exports of India.
5. Target-As of now, the quantum of export stands at $460 billion. The policy aims to almost double it to $900 Billion by the year 2020. The way the global economy is recovering and the way India is gearing up, this seems totally achievable.
6. Export Promotion Schemes-Coming to the schemes, earlier we had a bunch of schemes to mug for the exams but considering the frustration of civil service aspirants, the Govt. has clubbed them under two main schemes namely- Merchandise Exports from India Scheme (MEIS) and Service Exports from India Scheme (SEIS). MEIS subsumes Focus Market Scheme, Focus Product Scheme etc and SEIS is remodeled version of Served from India Scheme.
7. Duty Credit-The policy has also enhanced the concept of duty credit where in the duty credit scrips are now freely transferable and can be used for the payment of Customs Duty, Excise Duty and Service Tax. This is a great step in the direction of simplification of tax structure and it's integration. Till the much awaited GST comes, such beautiful innovations will help a lot.
8. Changes in EPCG: This policy directs the reduction of export obligation under the Export Promotion Control Goods (EPCG) up to 25%. This is to ensure the availability of products in the domestic market and at the same time to promote the import of Capital goods to India.
9. New Jargons: The policy also talks about "Branding Campaigns" to promote the local Indian products abroad. One of the major things that Indian products miss is the catchy packaging and global marketing. These campaigns will look to rectify that. The policy also talks of "Entrepreneurial Training Programs" under the umbrella of Skill India and Make In India.
10. Status Holders: The exporters who put through large quantities and help to Increase the exports from India big time, they must be recognized and given incentive. In this line, they will be categorized from One Star Export House to Five Star Export House depending upon the contribution made by them annually.
11. Rewards- Moreover the policy also talks of giving rewards for high level of domestic component in your export items thus promoting the local industries.

The Party is starting this Monday. Brace yourself! All the Best!

UPSC Interview IRS Customs Special

Fellow IRS (C&CE),

As of now, we have this draft list of questions about our service which can be asked in the Interviews. Some answers are from our discussions and some from useful links on the web...

The Batch Profile - We are the 66th batch of IRS (C& CE) with a total strength of 230. We are undergoing training at two academies as the batch has been split into two. The Customs Module and Excise module are being conducted at NACEN, Faridabad and MCR, Hyderabad respectively.

Overview of the Customs Module- This encapsulates the basic concepts of Customs, a detailed study of the various sections of the Customs Act 1962, the nuances of interpretation of law, the features of our Foriegn Trade Policy etc.

Highlights of the attachements. As of now, we have been sent on Port attachments to various parts of the country. There we were give the practical exposure of how Ports operate, how Customes personnel perform their functions at the Airports, how the Air Cargo Complexs works and who all are the stakeholders in the overall process of import and export. Some of us also got the opportunity to see land Customs Stations like that in Petropol, West Bengal. Besides we also got a bird's eye view of various other sections like Airport Intelligence Unit(AIU), R&I and Marine Preventive.

The ABC of GST!

Go through this article for now, Click ME!

Facts and data about Indirect Taxes . Coming Soon. Till then...Click Me!

Some relevant sections of the Customs Acts 1962 that we should remember! 
Sec 5 - Powers of  Officers of Customs
Sec 11- Power to prohibit importation and exportation of goods.
Sec 12 - Dutiable Goods.
Sec 14 - Valuation of Goods.
Sec 17 - Assessment of Duty.
Sec 26 - Refund.
Sec 57 - Appointing of Public Warehouses.
Sec 74- Drawback on re-export.
Sec 75- Drawback (General)
Sec 100-110 - Search, Seizure and Arrest.
Sec 127A - Settlement Commission.
Sec 128 - Appeal to Commissioner(Appeals)
Sec 129 Appellate Tribunal

The Concept of Duty Drawback. The concept of Duty Drawback pertains to those cases where duty on certain imports is given back in lieu of certain exports. This means that if you have paid duty on some of the imports which you have used to manufacture something and then if you export your product, you are entitled to get back the duties paid. You can also get back the duties in case you re-export the product without using.

What are the various export promotion schemes?
Here is the EPIC link for Schemes ...Click Me!

Service Hierarchy?
Hoping that we all know what lies above us. The confusion is always what lies beneath.
Assistant Commissioner
Superintendent\ Appraising Officer
Inspector\Preventive Officer
Tax Assistant\Sub Inspector
Head Hawaldar
Hawaldar

What can you do in Customs for Trade Facilitation? Better infrastructure, Latest technological innovations, ICT framework for all modules of Customs, More efficient integration of all stakeholders in the process of export and import, One Window Clearance, Simplification of Rules and Procedures and Inculcating a Service- Oriented approach.

What are the features of the New Foreign Trade Policy? Click Me

What are the IT innovations of your department? The two big IT innovations of our department are the systems of EDI (Electronic Data Interchange) and RMS (Risk Management System). The former facilitates the online filing of Bill of Entry and Online payment of duty. It also allows the online Bill of entry to flow through the hierarchy thus fastening up the process. The later is a feed based model which prompt which part of consignment to be taken for examination. The logic is based on several paramets and has been working very efficienty. Although the main goal of RMS is trade facilitation only. Also, it is not pratical to check all the incoming and outgoing consignments.

Beside these as per the New FTP, several new IT innovations are in the pipeline and nearing completion. These include: Msg Exchange System between DGFT and Customs; Online issuance of  Export Obligation Discharge Certificate (EODC); Mobile Apps for FTP; Online payments for all sorts of payments.

What are various types of duties in Customs?
Counter Veiling Duty(CVD)- This is to counter the subsidies given by an exporting nation into India.
Anti-Dumping Duty- If a foreign company is selling their product at a price lower than that of the country of origin, then anti dumping duty can be imposed. But the condition is that this must be hurting the domestic players.
Special Additional Duty (SAD)- This is to offset the taxes paid by th local products like Sales Tax, Octroi etc.
Safeguarding Duty- When there is a sudden surge in the import quantity of a certian product, this duty is imposed to save the local manufacturers.


What is WCO? How is it different from WTO?

The World Trade Organisation (WTO) is a regulator.  It was set up in 1995 to establish a permanent organisation for implementing international trade agreements and setting up a dispute settlement body.  Its origins go back to 1948 when the General Agreement on Tariffs & Trade (GATT) first started.  It became the WTO on 1^st January 1995 and currently has 159 member countries (March 2013). It deals with the regulation of international trade by providing a framework for negotiating and formalising trade agreements.  The dispute resolution process is aimed at enforcing participants' adherence to WTO agreements, which are signed by representatives of member governments and ratified by their parliaments. 

The World Customs Organisation (WCO) is an administrator.  It is the only international body dedicated exclusively to international customs and border control matters. It was founded way back in 1952 (1^st meeting January 1953) as a Study Group of the General Agreement on Tariffs & Trade (GATT).  It was originally called the Customs Cooperation Council (CCC) and became the WCO in 1994.  It currently has 179 member countries (plus the EU as a group) and its primary objective is to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness with regard to customs facilitation and control of its members.  Its instruments and best practice guides are recognised as the basis for sound customs administration throughout the world.  They maintain the international Harmonised System for commodity classification (tariff numbers) and also administer the technical aspects of WTO Agreements such as the ones covering Customs Valuation and Rules of Origin. 

(Source :http://import-export-training.blogspot.in/)

Tell us some of the basic baggage rules ?

1. Baggage means accompanied and unaccompanied both.
2. In accompanied, the upper limit is 45000 beyond that 35% duty. There is a provision of Green Channel and Red Channel. In case you have nothing to declare, you can come out from the Green Channel. Permissible limits on Gold and Silver are 1kg and 10kgs respectively.
3. In unaccompanied baggage, one has to declare the details of his baggage.
4. The items of Annex I are not included in the 45000 limit like Firearms, Cartridges, Cigarettes exceeding 100, Alcoholic Liquor in access of 2 litres, Gold or Silver and Flat Panel Television.
5. Stuff taken from the "Duty-Free" Shops is considered as normal accompanied baggage.
6. This 45000 limit is only when stay abroad is more than 3 days. Otherwise the limit is 17,500.
7. These limits are different in case of Nepal, Bhutan, China and Myanmar due to the proximity and cost benefit analysis.
8. In case of Household items coming as unaccompanied baggage, depreciation would be applicable for items more than 03 months old. And maximum depreciation given is 70%. It is computed quarterly.
9. Different provisions for professional and in case of Transfer of Residence.
10. For Crew, the limit stands at 1500 with no liquor included in it.
11. The baggage of a deceased person would be passed duty free given a certificate from the embassy in present.

What is the role of DGFT? DGFT is an agency of Ministry of Commerce and Industry. It has zonal and regional authorities spread over the country. Functions are...

1. DGFT entrusted with the responsibility of implementing various policies regarding trade for example, Foreign Trade Policy.
2. DGFT is the licensing authority for exporters, importers, and export and import business.
3. DGFT can prohibit, restrict and regulate exports and imports.
4. DGFT has important role to issue Notifications, Public notices, Circulars, etc.
5. DGFT grant 10 digit IEC (Importer Exporter Code), which is a primary requirement to Import Export
6. DGFT introduces different schemes from time to time regarding trade benefits throughout the country.
7. DGFT has introduced ITC (HS CODE) schedule-1 for import items in India and Schedule-2 for Export items from India.

What is "Unjust Enrichment" in Customs? For this you must first understand the concept of Refund. When an importer has paid duty in excess of what should have been charged, he can apply for a refund from the Customs. But meanwhile if he has passed on the burden of this extra duty paid to the customers in the forms of increased price, then that exporter will not be eligible for claiming refunds as that would amount to unjust enrichment of that importer.

Describe in brief the entire process of export and import quoting all the stakeholders?

Imports: IGM--Arrival--Entry Inward-- Landing of  goods--Bill of Entry Filled-- Assessment(Classification, Valuationa and Prohibition)--Payment of Duty--Examination--Clearance--Out of Charge--Removal from Customs Area.

Exports: Registration of Goods-- Shipping Bill/Bill of Export--Examination--Stuffing--Bill of lading--Let Export Order(LEO)-- EGM.

Describe the mechanism to settle disputes in Customs issues? For all orders passed by officer below the rank of Commissior, the appeal can be made to Commissioner(Appeals). Post that, it moves to CESTAT, then to HC and lastly SC. For orders passed by Pr.C/C/C(A), CESTAT is approached exclusing the cases of Baggage and Drawback. These can be then challenged HC and eventually in SC. In all these cases, pre deposit needs to be given.  Also, appeal on cases of Rate of Duty or Valuations from cestat will directly go to Supreme Court. SC can also admit SLP in this regard.

Describe the concept of Warehousing? Warehousing is the mechanism for the deferred payment of duty. Warehouse is a commercial building used for storage of goods. The board has delegated the power for declaring places to be warehouses to the Chief Commissioners.The period of warehousing starts when the goods are actually placed in the warehouse. For Capital Goods it is 5 years and for consumables it is 3 years.


What are INCOTERMS?
It stands for International Commercial Terms which are framed by the International Chamber of Commerce(ICC) based in Paris. For example, some of them are EXW(Ex works), FCA(Free Carrier) and FAS (Free alongside). For instance, if goods produced in a factory in Ghaziabad go to Mumbai and then through JNPT are exported then EXW will be Ghaziabad, FCA would be Mumbai and FAS would be JNPT. Other INCOTERMS which we are familiar with are CF,CIF,FOB etc. The basic purpose is to have a standard set of terms among all the countries for streamlining of trade.

Why does one require a Certificate of Origin to import goods? Suppose India has a FTA with a country X and the duty on a particular product A has been waived off. But there is a substantial duty on the same product coming from Y. Now exporters from Y can just send them to X and then re-route to India to avoid the duty. For checking this, the product A must have a Certificate of Origin that it was manufactured in country X so as to avail he benefit. Every country releases a list of bodies who can issue such certificates so that other countries can check the authenticity of these certificates.


What is the difference between Major and Minor Port? Give some examples.
Major Ports are under the control of the Union Government (Ministry of Shipping) and as of today we have 13 of them.

Minor ports on the other hand are looked after by the respective state governments. They are nearly two hundred in numbers.


What are the major problems that Indian Customs is facing today?
Infrastructural inadequacy, Personnel crunch, excessive litigation etc. Let's get a little specific we know we can play around such words. We only have a bunch of container scanners which is a pitty of sorts. Plus, large ships cannot dock in out tiny ports so either they have to stay in high waters or they dock at huge ports like Hambantota from where the smaller ships to and fro to get the containers. The turnaround time is also pathetic as the coordination among various stakeholders at the port is a shame. Plus, Indian Customs probably should move to the 12 or 14 digit HS classification which would  eventually see the litigation going down


As a Customs officer, what innovative changes would you bring?
Identifying the modules which can also be added to the ICT regime and computerized.
Simplifying office procedure and ensure proper documentation using the technological tools of information age.
By Ensuring proper utilization of human resources we can reduce the revenue forgone.
Building an efficient information network which is quintessential to catch connivance.
Building a heuristic system to keep track of the changing ways of violation of law especially in cases of smuggling.

How would you reduce corruption in your dept?

• By maximizing the use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) for decision making. This would certainly curtail the undue discretion available to officers and other staff.
• For all the cases of  procurement and purchase, the forum of e-Procurement must be used.
• There must be a vigilence team or setup to constantly monitor the activities taking place in the department.
• Personnel management in a proper way such that good officers be posted at sensitive locations.
• Administrative Ethics is not a one-off thing and hence constant refresher courses in that would greatly help the department.
• At various junctures where crucial decisions are to be taken, committees can be constituted for reasons of fairness.
• Officers must make use of the grapewine channels of communication for obtaining such kind of information which rarely comes through the formal channels.
• by establishing a Grievance redressal mechanism and by sensitizing the public through a citizen charter.

CBEC IT Consolidation, what is that?

This was the project which was recently awarded on the occasion of the Civil Services Day. The main features of the IT consolidation are ...

ØCountry wide MPLS network (650 offices in 245 cities)

ØEquipment & applications hosted in one data centre

ØCentralised operations

What is C.O.I.N ?
This stands for Customs Overseas Intelligence Network. This is present in the following locations - Dubai, London, Hong Kong, Nepal, Singapore, New York, Brussels and Moscow. The mandate of COIN is...

i.To monitor the flow of trade

ii.To collect intelligence on  customs frauds

iii.To assist in investigation

iv.To liaise with local Customs Departments

v.To keep tab on all economic violations/violators

vi.To monitor and report economic and politically sensitive developments in the jurisdiction.

vii.  To monitor movements of persons with dubious records 

Viii. To gather intelligence on all activities  against internal security of the country

ix. To maintain close liaison with other diplomatic missions and share intelligence and information

x. To provide direct assistance to DRI under cover

What is CUSTOMS & CENTRAL EXCISE SETTLEMENT COMMISSION?

• The Customs & Central Excise Settlement Commission was established under Sec. 32 of the Central Excise Act 1944 vide Notification No.40/99-Cx (NT) & 41/99-Cx (NT) dated 9.6.99. The Commission has its Principal Bench at New Delhi and three Additional Benches at Chennai, Kolkata and Mumbai.
• The Settlement Commission consists of one Chairman and two Members in the Principal Bench in New Delhi and one Vice Chairman and two Members in each of the three Additional Benches.
• The basic objective of setting up of the Settlement Commission is to expedite payments of Customs & Excise duties involved in disputes by avoiding costly and time consuming litigation process and to give an opportunity to tax payers to come clean who may have evaded payments of duty. It provides a forum for the assesses to apply for settlement of their cases, on the basis of true and complete disclosure of their duty liability by them under Chapter -V of the Central Excise Act and Chapter XVIA of the Customs Act. Settlement Commission is therefore set up as an independent body, manned by experienced tax officers of “integrity and outstanding ability” (Sec 32 (3) of CE Act), capable of inspiring confidence in Trade and Industry and entrusted with the responsibility of defining and safeguarding “Revenue interest‟. The proceedings before it are declared “judicial proceedings‟ within the meaning of Sec 193 & 228 of the IPC and for the purposes of Sec 196 of the Indian Penal Code.

What is the difference between EOU and SEZ?

Lots of points actually, so Click Me!

What is Statutory Declaration Form (SDF)?

A document submitted to customs authorities by exporters verifying that shipping bills are accurate and complete. An exporter confirms on form SDF that the amount paid by the buyer is the same as the full export value stated on the shipping bill. Also called statutory declaration form.

What are the major TARC recommendations ?

• Set up an Independent Evaluation Office to monitor the performance of tax administration, promote accountability, evaluate the impact of tax policies and assess all factors that affect tax administration
• A tax council to develop a common tax policy, analysis and legislation for both direct and indirect taxes
• A separate budget allocation to ensure time-bound tax refund and a passbook scheme for Tax Deduction at Source
• Develop PAN as a common business identification number, to be used by other government departments also such as customs, central excise, service tax, DGFT and EPFO

All the best!