Nagpur: A few years back, a superintendent rank officer who took premature retirement from the Central GST Department in Nagpur refused to attend his farewell ceremony. His colleagues say that his displeasure was that the slow promotion had left him, prompting him to leave.
Staff Says He’s Not the Only One to Leave for the Cause Federation Source. Sources say that since April, three superintendents in the department have retired early, with two more on the way. In Mumbai, a letter recently flagged by the superintendents’ union said that on an average at least four officers are opting for voluntary retirement every month due to discontent. A letter written by the Central Excise Superintendents Association (CESA) to the Principal Chief Commissioner states that 227 superintendents have taken early retirement from 2017-18 to 2021-22. 59 officers left early in 2021-22.
What is being called ‘territorial disparity’ is dodging the superintendent rank officers in this central service.
The department is divided into 15 zones. In Mumbai and Bhopal zone, the promotion of Superintendent rank officers is delayed. The latter covers Nagpur. But the promotion is very fast in areas like Vadodara, Delhi, Hyderabad and Bangalore. Zone-wise vacancies are created from time to time based on the requirement of officers of a certain rank in the region, explain union sources.
Unions say this is where inequality begins. The next promotion is to the level of Assistant Commissioner (AC). As long as he is the superintendent, the officer stays in the same area. However, after getting promoted to AC rank, there is an all India posting.
Unions say the 1985 to 1996 batches are the most affected, and they are choosing to leave. A large number of early retirements are also affecting work as experienced workers are leaving. Unions say the experience of the senior superintendent has been helpful in their day-to-day work.
“Now, superintendents who entered service in the 1980s have officers seven to 10 years junior as ACs coming from other regions,” says Ajit KG, Secretary of the All India Association of Superintendents of Central Taxes (AIACST), Vidarbha Unit. This not only causes dissatisfaction but also brings disgrace to work under the junior. Simply because promotions to the superintendent level happen faster in other regions, people from Mumbai or Nagpur are left out, he says.
Despite the financial loss, the offices are opting for voluntary retirement. An officer left even with nine years of service remaining. Leaving at this stage means a huge financial loss, Ajit said.
The matter was also taken up with Union Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari in October last year, who forwarded it to the Finance Minister. Nirmala Sitharaman, Even the chairman of the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) was apprised. However, there is no response yet, Ajit said.
CESA Secretary Sanjeev Sahai said that the government should remove inequality and ensure promotion of juniors only when those who have served more years are upgraded. “The disparity bothers the officers, which affects their personal lives as well,” an official said.
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