TIOL-DDT 1211 08.10.2009 Thursday RULE 2 of the earlier CE Rules, 1944 had a provision that Commissioner included Additional Commissioner except for the purposes of Chapter VIA of the Central Excise Act, 1944 (Appeals). Similarly Section 2(8) of the Customs Act says that Commissioner of Customs includes Additional Commissioner. There is a major difference in the way an Additional Commissioner of Central Excise was a Commissioner of Central Excise and an Additional Commissioner of Customs is a Customs Commissioner. In Customs, the Act stipulates that an Additional Commissioner is a Commissioner whereas in Central Excise, the Additional Commissioner was made a Commissioner by rules only. In the new era of simplified rules, where during delivery, several useless rules in the old set were consigned to the dustbin of history, a few babies also got thrown away along with the bathwater. The new Central Excise rules do not recognise the Additional Commissioner as Commissioner. So the situation now is that while an Additional commissioner of Customs is a Commissioner, an Additional commissioner of Central Excise is not a Commissioner. This would lead to some comical situations. Every Commissioner of Central Excise is also a Commissioner of Customs within his territorial jurisdiction. So within a Central Excise Commissionerate, an Additional Commissioner is a Commissioner of Customs but he is not a Commissioner of Central Excise. Take the case of an EOU – the jurisdictional Additional Commissioner can exercise the powers of a Customs commissioner, not Central Excise Commissioner. And in any case the Additional Commissioners are not appointed by anybody – they just occupy their seats! Junk Furniture in Government offices – why not dispose them? You go to any government office, you will find the corridors and terrace full of useless discarded furniture, as the following pictures taken in a Central Excise office would reveal. |