Case law › Circulars › 2012 › Circular No. Office Memorandum [F.NO. 12020/6/2012-AD.IX], dated 16-8-2012

CBDT circular 16 August 2012

Circular No. Office Memorandum [F.NO. 12020/6/2012-AD.IX], dated 16-8-2012

Constitution of a Committee for redressal of the demands/issues raised by ITGOA and ITEF

What this is

Circular No. Office Memorandum [F.NO. 12020/6/2012-AD.IX], dated 16-8-2012 was issued by the Central Board of Direct Taxes on 16 August 2012. Its subject is Constitution of a Committee for redressal of the demands/issues raised by ITGOA and ITEF.

What it does

Constitutes an interim committee of two Members of the Board, Member (Income Tax) and Member (Revenue), to take up the demands and issues raised by the two staff associations. The committee is to examine the present and pending demands raised by the Joint Committee of Action, suggest a course of action on them, and suggest ways of setting up permanent machinery to address employee grievances on an ongoing basis. It is to report to the Chairman within a fortnight, with secretarial assistance from the Ad.IX section.

Why it was issued

Representations were received that the quarterly review meetings the Chairman holds with the associations were not always held in time, so issues raised were not being reviewed or resolved in a time bound way.

Who it reaches

Members of the Income Tax Gazetted Officers Association and the Income Tax Employees Federation
The two Members of the Board named to the committee
The Ad.IX section of the Board

The instrument, as the Board published it

The words below are the department’s own, reproduced from its published text. Where the department’s copy carried a publisher’s notes after the instrument, those are not reproduced.

Constitution of a Committee for redressal of the demands/issues raised by ITGOA and ITEF
Office Memorandum [F.No. 12020/6/2012-Ad.IX], dated 16-8-2012
Representations have been received that quarterly review meetings taken by Chairman with the representatives of ITGOA and ITEF are not always held in time with the result that issues raised by the Association are not reviewed/ resolved in time bound manner. It has, therefore been decided with the approval of Chairman (CBDT) to constitute an interim Committee consisting of two Members of CBDT:
Shri S.S. Rana, Member (IT) and Shri S.C. Jaini, Member (R). Secretarial assistance to the Committee will be provided by Ad.IX section.
2. The tentative terms of reference of the Committee will be as below:-
(a) To examine the present and pending demands/issues raised by the Joint Committee of Action.
(b) To suggest the course of action on the demands/issues raised.
(c) To suggest ways and means of establishment of a permanent machinery to address grievances of employees of IT department on ongoing basis.
3. The Committee will submit its recommendation for consideration by the Chairman (CBDT) within a fortnight.
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What to watch

The committee is described as interim, and part of its remit is to recommend permanent machinery — so it was never meant to be the standing forum.
The fortnight it was given to report has long since run.
This is a service and staff matter internal to the department, with no effect on any assessment or taxpayer.

Where you meet it

Only in departmental service and association correspondence; it does not arise in any proceeding against a taxpayer.

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A circular binds the department, not you and not a court. The Board issues a circular to its own officers. An assessee may hold the department to a circular that helps him; the department cannot hold an assessee to one that hurts him, and the Tribunal and the courts decide the law for themselves.

Source: the Income Tax Department’s own published text — its page for this instrument.