Date : 24-12-2006

To

The Hon'ble Chief Minister of Maharashtra
Shri Vilasrao Deshmukh
Mantralaya, Mumbai – 400 032.

Respected Sir,

           The proposal of increase of posts in the Sales Tax Department, has been approved by your Cabinet, though after much delay. VAT has been implemented from 1-4-2005, but unlike in other States, this progressive State, has not yet developed the following infrastructure, for proper functioning of VAT.

1. No border check posts.
    

2. No mechnism of Scrutiny, Business Audit, Survey, Enforcement introduced properly. In fact, the officers are instructed to issue refunds to all claimants, so that the State can claim full compensation from the Centre.
    

3. Returns Branch, Recovery Branch, not fully functional. No proper chasing of Return defaulters and recovery of tax and return dues. Faulty and incomplete defaulter lists sent by Electronic Corporation of India.
    

4. All dealers registered under former Bombay Sales Tax Act, 1959, not registered under VAT even though they exceed the turnover limits. No efforts undertaken to track down such dealers.
    

5. No survey undertaken in any of the Acts administered by the Department, to widen tax base, no measures adopted, on the lines of Income Tax Department, to identify Potential Tax-Payers and detect evaders.
    

6. The actual rise in tax collection is off-set by the refunds given. The net increase is therefore NIL.
    

7. Grievances and hardships faced by the dealers, Tax Practitioners and Sales Tax employees are pending with the Commissioner's Office and Finance Department for long periods, unattended, due to redtapism and corruption.
    

8. In VAT regime, there is no work allotted for the Senior Deputy Commissioner's post. Five posts are increased for assessment of cases under the old Act. This is very ridiculous. I suggest the following remedies, so that the services of such senior officers, are not wasted in unproductive work, and promotional avenues are not cut off.
    

9. The assessment work and work of scrutiny under VAT be allotted to Deputy Commissioners only, as these posts are increased by 130.
    

10. The Senior Deputy Commissioners, should be allotted more important work of survey, enforcement, work in Commissioner's office, deputation to Anti Corruption Branch and officer on Special Duty, Mantralaya etc. They may also be made heads of Human Resources section in Headquarters, where Joint Commissioners are posted.
     

11. The above arrangement will, ensure that all Senior Officers, get a chance to work in key posts in Enforcement and Survey, which require mature leadership, as these posts are sensitive. Secondly, the lobbying and resultant corruption at the level of Commissioner, and Finance Department will be automatically cutoff.
     

12. As per management principles, senior officers such as Senior Deputy Commissioners, who are generally, above fifty years of age, should be given supervisory work, involving planning for increasing revenue, rather than working in stereo-type assessment work, which involves lot of hectic verification, tedious checking, where the contribution to revenue, by way of assessment is a meagre 5% of the total collection. Such hectic schedules at such an advanced age, can affect the health of the officers, giving rise to hypertension and cardiac diseases.
     

13. Reforms in Tax Departments should be initiated, as per Police Reforms.

To sum up, from the above sorry state of affairs, the Sales Tax Department does not deserve any compensation from the Centre. I sincerely appeal to you, to immediately (at least from 1st April, 2007) start the remedial measures suggested by me to protect and increase Government revenue, or else I will be constrained to meet the Central Finance Minister, and the comptroller and Auditor General, to brief them about the above situation. With regards.

Yours faithfully,

(S. K. Shah)
 

Date : 27-12-2006

To

The Sales Tax Practitioners Association of Maharashtra
8 & 9, Mazgaon Tower,
21, Mhatar Pakhadi Road, Mazgaon,
Mumbai 400 010/