Nagpur: Traders and businessmen are struggling to deal with the newly implemented Goods and Service Tax (GST) with even the government finding it difficult to handle large number of transactions. But an RTI query has revealed that there are nearly 2,000 vacancies of top officers in the Central Board of Excise and Customs (Central Excise) for dealing with GST matters.
The query was asked by social worker Sanjay Thul, who sought information on various posts in the Central Excise offices till March 31. It included those from assistant to additional and principal commissioners of GST.
The reply by central public information officer (CPIO) and assistant director Virendra Arora informed that out of the total 5,788 sanctioned strength, about 3,840 are filled up while 1,980 are vacant.
Thul, a resident of Ramai Nagar, had also sought to know efforts taken by the Central Board to fill up large number of posts, which according to him, was adversely affecting the work. However, the reply to this particular query was not given.
The CPIO informed that information in this regard was more in the nature of query and didn’t fall under the RTI Act, 2005.
Arora’s reply mentioned that the highest number of vacancies exist in the grade of chief commissioners, principal commissioners along with deputy and assistant commissioners.
Out of the 14 sanctioned posts of chief commissioners, only two are filled up so far while, 77 are vacant for the principal commissioners out of 99.
Goods and Services Tax or GST is an indirect tax that has subsumed an array of state levies. GST replaced tate taxes such as VAT, central sales tax, purchase tax, entry tax, entertainment tax, taxes on advertisements, lotteries, betting and gambling, and state cesses and surcharges.
Hailed as the biggest tax reform since Independence, GST is comprised in three parts Central GST (CGST), State GST (SGST) and Integrated GST (IGST).
(With inputs from
Subodh Wasnik)
