Renewal of Recognition - DDO certificates

Chennai, the 22nd May, 2011

To,

All the Unit Representatives/
AICE&STMOA.

Dear Comrades,

Sub:- Renewal of Recognition of the Association – Remittance of

subscription – submission of DDO Certificates – reg.

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You all are aware that the recognition for the Association was granted by the Ministry during March-2010 initially for a period of two Years. In order to renew the recognition it is our collective responsibility to ensure that the necessary documents including the DDO certificates are submitted to the Ministry in Advance apart from the audited statement of Accounts of the subscription received during the last two Years.

2. In this backdrop it is worth recalling the difficulties experienced by the leaders to meet the senior Officers in the Ministry/Board for getting the grievances addressed in absence of recognition, which should never be forgotten. Some of the issues that are pending unresolved and are haunting us even today are due to the fact they were not taken up at the appropriate time by a recognized body. If the Association is able to address letters to the Board/Ministry on the grievances and ensure that they are heard, it is due to the fact that today ours is a recognized Association. During the last one year this Association has made considerable progress to reactivate the defunct JCM machinery in many zones. Not only that the Association has already submitted a letter to the Addl. Secretary (Revenue), requesting him to convene the Departmental Council at the Board level to take up the outstanding issues (copy of letter is placed on the blog). A positive outcome is expected on the matter, which will be made known in the coming days. Further, the leaders of the Association also took part in the Departmental Anomaly Committee meeting of the Ministry of Finance, because they are entitled to do so as being part of a recognized Association. The advantages of a recognized Association are many and are well known.

3. However, despite the request of the Secretary General to the zonal/ unit representatives on various occasions, to remit their share of the subscription amount to the All India Association, barring a few none of the leaders has responded to the said request. Therefore it is once again requested that all the zonal /unit representatives may kindly remit their subscription to the All India Association immediately, without any further delay. An amount of Rs.24/- per member has to be remitted to the All India Account by way of a Demand Draft drawn in favour of the Association or remitted directly to the Association’s Account, the details of which are available in the Secretary General’s letter dated 18.06.2010, a copy of which is enclosed.

4. Further, all the Zonal/unit representatives are requested to kindly obtain and forward the Annexure –II i.e., DDO certificates in the prescribed format to the undersigned immediately to the address mentioned below. The certificate may be obtained for the Annual Year 2011-12. The zonal/unit representatives should strive to achieve 100% enrolment of Members in their respective zone and try to achieve the maximum number of DDO certificates possible at the earliest.

5. It is once again reiterated that the renewal of recognition by submitting the DDO certificates and audited statement of accounts it in time and any failure to do so will result in huge and catastrophic loss to the entire cadre which will then be difficult to overcome. The absence of recognition cannot be even imagined at this crucial juncture, as we are at the cusp of a transformation in the Department, during which time the entire Ministerial cadre is expected to undergo a sea change. Therefore, all the responsible leaders are requested to take necessary steps and ensure that the requisite number of DDO certificates, are submitted as soon as possible, latest by 31st July, 2011 and the subscriptions as mentioned above.

Yours faithfully,

Sd/-

(J. SUDARSHAN)

ORGANISING SECRETARY

Address for Correspondence:-



BYE-LAWS OF THE ASSOCIATION

Pune, the 18th of April,2010.

Dear Comrades,

Acceding to the demands from various quarters, the Bye-Laws of the Association is placed on the blog for information of one and all.

Yours sincerely,
Thomas Mony,
Secretary General.

MEMORANDUM OF ASSOCIATION

PREAMBLE:
This memorandum of all India Central Excise and Service Tax Ministerial officers Association contain the name, scope and aims and objectives to safeguard the service interest and further service prospects of the members.
SCOPE:
a. The Membership of this Association extends to the categories of Ministerial officers i.e. Administrative Officers, Deputy Office Superintendent, Senior Tax Assistant, Tax Assistant and Lower Division Clerk working in the Central Excise and Service Tax Department in whatever capacity / designation and will also include those cadres that may be created in future and termed to Ministerial by way of including any designation or re-designation in the existing cadres in time to time by the authorities.
b. Membership of this Association shall be restricted to the above distinct category only.
AIMS AND OBJECTS:
a. This Association has been formed primarily with the object of promoting common service interest of its members belonging to the cadres of Administrative Officers, Deputy Office Superintendent, Senior Tax Assistant, Tax Assistant and Lower Division Clerk.
b. To represent the issues relating to common objects of Ministerial Officers in the cadres of Administrative Officers, Deputy Office Superintendent, Senior Tax Assistant, Tax Assistant and Lower Division Clerk various Commissionerates of Central Excise and Service Tax Department either referred to the Association / associations or on its own.
c. To abide by the conditions for grant of recognition to the Association as stipulated in the relevant provisions of CCs (RSA) Rules, 1993, as may be amended from time to time and / or laid down in orders issued from time to time by the concerned Ministry of Government of India.
d. To espouse of support the cause of individual members of Ministerial establishment in Central Excise and Service Tax Department, involving principles affecting the Ministerial Officers in the grade of Administrative Officer, Deputy Office Superintendent, Senior Tax Assistant, Tax Assistant and Lower Division Clerk in general.
e. To Secure, protect and promote the interest and to vindicate the rights of Ministerial Officers of the Central Excise & Service Tax Department through legitimate and peaceful means. If required by way of coordinated efforts / activities of various Unions / Associations of employees of Central Excise & Service Tax Department and to the Board of Central Excise and Customs which are recognized under CCS (RSA) Rules, 1993.
f. To coordinate with, to make a common cause and to federate or affiliate with other Central Government Employees and Workers Unions / Association / Associations etc. recognized under CCS (RSA) Rules 1993, having similar aims and objects to ventilate and seek redressal of the common grievances arising out of and related to service condition, career, advancement, protection and promotion and promotion of common interest and safeguarding rights and privileges of all Central Government Employees.
g. To accept, agree and actively cooperate with check-off system and membership verification.
h. To publish a journal / journals with the permission of the Government.

CONSTITUTION / BYE-LAWS OF ALL INDIA CENTRAL EXCISE AND SERVICE TAX MINISTERIAL OFFICERS ASSOCIATION

Article – 1
NAME: The name of the Association shall be All India Central Excise and Service Tax Ministerial Officer’s Association referred to as the Association.

Article – 2
HEAD QUARTERS:
a. The office and the headquarters of the Association shall be where the Secretary General of the Association is stationed.
b. The jurisdiction of the Association shall encompass the territorial jurisdiction of the country.
Article – 3
ACCOUNTING YEAR: The Accounting year will be 1st April to 31st March.
Article – 4
AIMS & OBJECTIVES:
The Aims & Objectives of the Association shall be:
a. This Association has been formed primarily with the object of promoting common service interest of its members.
b. To represent the issues relating to common objects of Ministerial Officers in the various Commissionerates of Central Excise and Service Tax Department either referred to the Association / Associating units or on its own.
c. To abide by the conditions for grant of recognition to the Association as stipulated in the relevant provisions of CCS (RSA) Rules, 1993, as may be amended from time to time and / or laid down in orders issued from time to time by the Concerned Ministry of Government of India.
d. To espouse or support the cause of individual members of Ministerial establishment in Central Excise & Service Tax Department, involving principles affecting the Ministerial Officers in general.
e. To secure protect and promote the interest and to vindicate the rights of Ministerial Officers of the Central Excise & Service Tax Department through legitimate and peaceful means, if required by way of coordinated efforts / activities of various Unions / Associations / Association of employees of Central Excise & Service Tax Department and to the Board of Central Excise and Customs which are recognized under CCS (RSA) Rules, 1993.
f. To coordinate with, to make a common cause and to associate or affiliate with other Central Government Employees and Workers Unions / Association / Association, etc. recognized under CCS (RSA) Rules, 1993, having similar aims and objects to ventilate and seek redressal of the common grievances arising out of and related to service condition, career advancement, protection and promotion and promotion of common interest and safeguarding rights and privileges of all central Government Employees.
g. To accept, agree and actively cooperate with check-off system and membership verification.
h. To publish a journal / journals with the permission of the Government.
Article – 5
MEMBERSHIP: All Ministerial Officers, working in the Central Excise & Service Tax Department shall be entitled to membership of the Association provided:
a. He/she makes an application in writing in the prescribed term as set out the appendix to the General Secretary of the concerned Association that under whose jurisdiction the incumbent is posted.
b. That he/she abides by the rules and regulations as laid down in the constitution of the Association and agrees not to act in the manner prejudicial to the interests of the Association.
c. That he/she agrees to pay Associations subscription at the rate fixed by the executive committee form time to time.
Note: A member shall forfeit his/her to the membership if he/she in default of payment of its yearly subscription. However, the executive committee may extend the time frame (maximum three months) in cases of genuine difficulty. A member whose membership has ceased in terms of above provisions may be re-admitted by the executive committee in consideration of an appeal submitted by him/her explaining the circumstances for such defaults.

Article – 6
FUNDS:
a. The funds of the Association shall consist of the subscription, admission and re-admission fees and donation from members and well wishers.
b. The funds of the Association shall be deposited in a scheduled/nationalized bank as approved by its working committee and shall be operated upon by the joint signature of the following office bearers (1) Secretary General (2) Treasurer.
c. The funds of the Association shall be utilized for the purpose of achieving any or all of its objects including payment of honorarium, expenses of recurring and non-recurring nature, expenses of any member or members deposited for specific purpose on behalf of the Association and such other expenses as may be considered necessary by the Executive Committee.
d. The amount of subscription payable by the various units to the Association per member per month shall be Rs. 2/ (Rupees two only) or Rs.24/- per annum.
e. The subscription as fixed by the concerned Association units from the members shall be deducted from the salaries of the members after taking authorization from the members concerned and the same shall be paid to the concerned Association units.
f. From the subscription so collected by the various units, the proportionate share of the Association (@ Rs. 2/-per member per month) should be remitted to the Association by 10th of the following month, in which the subscription has been deducted from the salary of the concerned member.
g. In the event of acute scarcity of funds faced by an affiliated unit in conduct of convention of the Association / Special meeting of the Association or in carrying out a call given by the Association in the general interest of the Ministerial community as a whole, the Association shall prevail on such situation in granting certain amount of the fund vested with the Association with the approval of the Executive committee of the Association.
Article – 7
ORGANISATION: The organization of the Association shall compose of various Association units of Central Excise & Service Tax Department spread throughout the country.
Article - 8
CONVENTION OF THE ASSOCIATION:
a. The convention of the Association shall be the supreme authority.
b. The convention of the Association shall consist of not more than 2 representatives from each affiliated unit viz. the President and the General Secretary of the respective units or two representatives, duly authorized by the executive committee of the units and office bearers of the All India Central Excise & Service Tax Ministerial Officers Association.
c. The convention shall generally be called and convened once in two years in general to deal with:-
1. To appoint Auditors to conduct audit of the accounts of the Association.
2. To elect / select new office bearers.
3. To amend the bye-laws/constitution of the Association, if any.
4. The convention shall be called/convened after giving a notice of at least 30 days in advance.
5. The quorum for convening the meeting shall be 2/3rd of the total strength of the membership of the convention.
6. The committee formed during the convention shall have a term of 2 years which may be further extended for a period not beyond 6 months.
Article – 9
SPECIAL MEETING: The special meeting shall be called whenever necessary to discuss the functions and importance of the subject matter irrespective of the periods. This meeting shall be called at the discretion of the Secretary General, in concurrence with the Organizing Secretary or the Executive Committee depending upon importance of the subject matter. This meeting shall be represented by all office bearers/executive committee of the Association and representative from all the units. This meeting can be called even at a short notice. The quorum for this meeting will be one-third of the total strength of the members.
Article – 10
EXECUTIVE MEETING:
1. The Executive committee consists of all the office bearer of the Association including its Zonal Secretaries and the committee members.
2. This meeting shall be called at least once in six months giving a notice of 15 days in ordinary circumstances. On an emergent situation, the same shall be called at al short notice anywhere in the country.
3. The quorum of this meeting is 2/3rd of the total strength of the executive committee. Any meeting which could not transact the business for want of quorum shall be positioned and same shall be recorded in the minutes and shall be signed by the members present at the meeting. The postponed meeting shall be communicated in writing to the absentees indicating the date and place of the postponed meeting. At the postponed meeting quorum shall not be required to transact the business.
Article – 11
OFFICE BEARER OF THE FEDRATION:

The Executive Committee consists:
1. President 1
2. Vice President 2
3. Secretary General 1
4. Asstt. Secretary General 2
5. Organizing Secretary 1
6. Liaison Secretary 1
7. Zonal Secretaries 5
8. Treasurer 1
9. Office Secretary 1
Serial number (1) to (5) shall be elected/selected by the convention of the Association. Serial number (6) shall be nominated by the Executive Committee. Serial number (7) shall be elected by the concerned zone. Serial number (8) & (9) shall be nominated by the Secretary General and ordinarily they should be posted at the Headquarter of the Association.
Article – 12
ZONES OF THE ASSOCIATION:

The following are the zones:
a. The South Zone comprises of the following states: Kerala, Tamilnadu, Pondicherry, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh.
b. The North Zone comprises of Delhi, Rajasthan, Chandigarh, Uttar Pradesh, Uttaranchal, Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab and Haryana.
c. The East Zone comprises of West Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand, Orissa, Sikkim, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, Meghalaya, Tripura and Andaman & Nicobar Islands.
d. The West Zone comprises of Gujarat, Maharashtra & Goa.
e. The Central Zone comprises of Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh.

Article-13:
ELECTION OF THE OFFICE BEARERS
A member having voting power in the convention shall be eligible to contest to any post mentioned at serial no 1 to 5 of the clause of office bearers mentioned above. The member who wishes to contest should obtain his sponsorship certificate from the general secretary to the concerned federating unit from where he represents and should fulfill all the condition of the Association.
The election shall be by secret ballot or by unanimity. Every affiliated unit shall have two votes and the right shall be exercised by the delegates present at the convention of the Association. The right to vote shall be forfeited if the affiliated unit defaults in making payment of the share of its subscription to the Association. In case of a tie, the president shall have the casting vote. The election will be conducted by a Returning officer appointed by convention. If the proposal of the candidate is by oral, the consent of the candidate is essential and he/she should be present at the same meeting.

Article-14:-
REMOVAL OF OFFICE BEARERS:
Any office bearer shall be removed by the committee from office for the remaining period. If he/she fails to attend three meetings consecutively without valid reason (meeting means-Executive, Special meeting and convention).
A no confidence motion against any office bearer mentioned at serial number (1) to (5) shall be moved and passed during the executive Committee meeting with at least three fourth majority of the members present.

Vacancy caused due to resignation, demise, ceasing to be members of the distinct category and the removal of the membership from the affiliate unit, the respective post shall be co-opted by the executive committee.

Article-15:
REMOVAL OF ZONAL SECRETARIES:
Any zonal secretary shall be removed by the4 committee from office of he fails to attend two meetings consecutively without valid reasons convened by the All India Central Excise and Service Tax Ministerial Officers Association. Any Zonal Secretary shall ceased to hold his position, if two third of the respective zonal units recommend for removal in writing to the Secretary General.

Article-16:

FUNTIONS OF THE OFFICE BEARERS:-
(A)President: The president shall be the constitutional head of the Association. He shall preside over all the meetings of the Association including the bi-annual convention. In case of a tie during election he shall have the casting vote.
(B) Vice-President:- They shall assist president in holding of meetings. In absence of president either of the two vice president over and conduct the meeting. They will not have right to casting vote in case of a tie.
(c) Secretary General: The Secretary General will be the key-functionary of the Association. He shall primarily responsible for the affairs of the Association. He will deal with the various authorities of the governments in issues relating to the ministerial community. He shall convene various meeting of the Association including the convention. He will record the minutes of the meeting and be responsible to the convention/Executive committee for the proper discharge and execution of the directives of a resolution passed in those meeting and shall exercise general supervision over the affairs of the Association. He shall represent the Association in all matters connecting and concerning him. He shall summon the convention and will communicate the dates and venue to the various Association Units. He shall be primarily responsible for the maintenance of books of accounts of the Association and shall be responsible for keeping control over the expenditure made from the und of Association. However, he shall enjoy [powers to incur expenses of recurring nature. He shall prepare reports statistics etc. he shall be required to present a report of the state of affairs of the Association in the convention ordinarily. However if so desired by the executive committee he will place his reports in any other meeting of the Association. He shall sue or be sued on behalf of the Association and shall represent it in all legal proceedings.
(D) Assistant Secretary General: He shall assist the Secretary General and shall perform the work assigned by the Secretary General of the Executive committee. He shall act as a Secretary General in the absence of Secretary General and discharge the duties of the Secretary General till new incumbent occupies the office. He shall be responsible for maintaining the minutes of the executive committee and the conventions.
(E) Liaison Secretary: The Liaison Secretary shall have the Headquarter at New nearby place to New Delhi. He shall be responsible for maintaining liaison with the department set up and the organization. He shall be responsible for pursuing the issues; pertaining to the organization. and the Ministerial community as a whole with he Board/Ministry at New Delhi after taking suitable instructions/directions from the Secretary General.
(F) Zonal Secretaries:- He shall deal with all the issues concerning to is zone ad should have effective liaison wit the authorities concerned in particular zone. He shall co-ordinate with the Association in implementing the decisions of the Association. He shall keep informed the secretary general regularly the developments in his zone. where in case the Zonal Secretaries are unable to interact with theses units in the respective zone, and where the no. of Commissionerates are more, they ma appoint Assistant Zonal Secretaries for their assistance under intimation to the secretary general.
(G) Organizing Secretary: He shall interact with the Zonal Secretaries and the Association. He shall take care of the organization set up of the Association in such a manner that a proper feed back of the Federating units is given to the Secretary General. He shall submit a half-yearly report to the office bearers of the Association o the organizational issues. He shall act in any manner as directed by the Secretary General or the Executive Committee for betterment of the organization.
(H) Treasurer: He shall be responsible for maintenance of the books of accounts of the Association. He shall exercise control over the funds and expenditure of the Association in consultation with the Secretary General. He shall operate the transactions with the bank along with the Secretary General. He shall place before the convention a statement showing financial position of the Association duly audited. He shall keep with himself not more than an amount duly approved by the convention for day to day affairs expenses of the Association.
(I) Office Secretary: He shall assist the Secretary General in his day to day office work in relation to preservation and filling of documents correspondences etc.
Article – 17
AMENDMENTS: Any changes in the constitution of the Association shall be placed before the convention of the Association. A notice of at least 30 days in advance shall be given to the affiliated units for discussion on the proposed amendment before placing the same before the convention of the Association. Any amendment in the constitution of the Association shall be made only with the prior approval of the Government. Any amendment of the constitution shall be effective if it is approved by the two thirds of the members present and having voting rights at the convention.
Article – 18
OMMISSION AND REPEAL: Anything contained herein shall be deleted, altered or substituted furtherance of the proper functioning of the Association and which shall be in consonance with the general good of the Ministerial community as a whole, subject to the ratification by the convention of the Association.

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Recent Developments

Dear Members,

The office bearers had visited Delhi on 28.07.09, to pursue the pending issues relating to the federation in the Ministry and the Supreme Court.

1. UPGRADATION OF THE PAY OF DOS:-
As regards the up gradation of grade pay of Dos, ASG Sudershan has given a letter from central Excise commissionerate Chennai. On interacting with the senior officers in the Ministry, it is gathered that some interest is being shown by the Officers to solve this issue at the earliest. The Officers at the Sectary level officer are willing to merge STA and DOS, but the Joint Secretary is opposing the move on ground that STA is feeder cader for both the grades, i.e., Inspector and DOS . Therefore, due to this the matter is still pending before higher oficials. We need to pursue the matter vigorously to fulfill our goals..

2.RECOGNITION OF THE FEDERATION:-

The issue is pending for want of change in the name of the federation, excluding the word 'The Land Customs' in the title name of the federation. The bye-laws were amended accordingly and submitted to the Board. Now it has been informed by the Joint Secretary(Admn) that the order recognising the federation will be issued shortly.

3.CHENNAI HIGH COURT CASE:-

The chennai High Court matter which is pending in Supreme Court has been ordered to be posted before the Judge in the chamber due to non-service of notices. However it is yet to be listed for want of file as it is learnt that the file is misplaced in the Registry. The Officials of the Registry have been requested to trace and list it as soon as possible. It is expected that the same would be listed within a month's time.

4. RECRUITMENT RULES OF DOS NOTIFIED:-
The Recruitment Rules of the DOS has been notified, after much delay. However, the federation is disappointed at the manner in which it was delayed and issued without any change in the pay scale. The federation shall try and take necessary steps to challenge the same in a court after obtaining legal opinion. The federation is of the view that the grade pay of the feeder grade and the promoted grade cannot remain same if there has to be a promotion. The zones in which there are no vacancies of DOS left to be filled up can take up the matter to challenge the same in the Tribunal.

With regards,
Thomas Mony,
Secretary General.

Federation News from Delhi

The board meeting that was to be held on 8th of this month with all federations has been deferred to 24th of this month. It is to note that Board has not invited us to this meeting as our federation is pending recognition. So I urge all the unit secretaries/office bearers to act on this issue and collect as many Annexure II from the DDOs.

In zones where the Administrative Officers are willing to join our Federation they are welcome. As such our cadre has depleted after cadre restructuring and with many issues which are vital to our careers are pending in Board and Courts and time and again we have to meet the Board and take our submissions/demands to them for implementation.If our word is to be heard in the Board our immediate step is to get it recognised and you are now aware as to what is to be done now...Issues like pay commission, upgraded scales of pay to STAs, DOS and A.Os and particularly pay hike for TA grade is our immediate task.

Addressing the Board to expedite our disputes in court at the earliest and so many other related issues also require boards attention.so please think over and act immediately...The Andhra Pradesh SLP is posted for hearing in January, first week 2009.

With best wishes,

Nageshwari venu

Organising Secretary, AICCEMOF