Income Tax Officers are not too happy with new promotion rule
IT officers not too happy with new promotion rule: The Hindu Business Line
New Delhi, September 4
Better days are ahead for income tax officials, as the Government
will soon notify amendments in the recruitment rules. This will
facilitate promotions and direct recruitment, as approved under the
cadre restructuring plan.
However, the Gazetted Officers Association of the Income Tax
Department is not happy, as it wants the new posts of assistant
commissioners to be filled in one go, through promotions.
“The Department of Personnel and Training is expected to issue
amendments in the recruitment rules very soon,” a senior Revenue
Department official told BusinessLine.
On May 23, the Cabinet approved the proposal for creation of 20,751
additional posts in the Tax Department. This includes 1,349 posts in the
Indian Revenue Service (IRS) cadre and 19,402 posts in the non-IRS
cadre.
Due to some procedural issues, the Department is facing vacancies at
various levels. When the Cabinet approved the creation of additional
posts, it permitted, as a one-time measure, filling up these posts
through promotions, without amendments in the recruitment rules.
Accordingly, among others, 26 officials were promoted to the newly
created grade of ‘principal chief commissioners of income tax’.
Now, 17 out of these 26 officials have retired. To top it, there are
already four vacancies for members at the board level (sanctioned
strength of seven, including Chairman). These vacancies are affecting
decision making in the Department. As on August 1, posts vacant at the
level of the chief commissioners stood at 30, principal commissioners at
330, commissioner at 208 and additional/joint commissioners over 700.
But, the real issue is at the level of assistant commissioner of
income tax (ACIT), the entry level for Group ‘A’ service. Two sets of
people are appointed at this level – those in the IRS and income tax
officers. The cadre restructuring exercise decided to create 166
additional regular posts and 620 additional reserve posts at this. Along
with 563 vacancies arising out of promotions at a higher grade, a total
of 1,349 additional posts were created.
While all other newly created posts are to be filled in one go, for
the assistant commissioner level, the condition is that additional posts
are to be filled over five years. Every year, half of the posts are to
be filled by direct recruitment and the remaining through promotions.
“This will leave most of the newly created posts at assistant
commissioner level vacant for the first four years,” said Ajay Goyal,
President of the Income Tax Gazetted Officers Association.
He said nearly 600 officers were awaiting promotions since the past
14 years, and will now have to wait longer. In the last cadre
restructuring in 2001, around 1,000 additional posts of assistant
commissioner were filled through promotions, he added.
Source:
The Hindu Business Line
