Literally, the word vigilance means nothing more than alertness or watchfulness. In the context in which this word is used in bureaucratic parlance, however, it has necessarily to be construed as watchfulness or alertness against deviant or unacceptable conduct or practice. It follows that the purpose of vigilance is not to create a fear psychosis in an organization, demotivate it officials or stifle decision making. The performance of vigilance functions would become dysfunctional if it has this effect. On the other hand, if such functions are performed with sensitivity, they might have the opposite effect of promoting probity and enhancing managerial efficiency and effectiveness at all levels. Vigilance mechanisms would then act as deterrent to misconduct and help officials to achieve results within the framework of their rules, regulations and norms. All this is only possible, however, if vigilance is regarded as an integral part of management.

Central Vigilance Commission

The Central Vigilance Commission was set up by the Government of India in Feb. 1964 on the recommendation of the Santhanam Commission under the Ministry of Home Affairs Resolution No.27/4/64-AVD dated 11th Feb. 1964.

In any case where it appears after a preliminary inquiry, that a public servant either acted or abstained from acting, with an improper or corrupt motive, the Commission advises the disciplinary authority on the action to be taken against the public servant concerned.

The jurisdiction of the Central Vigilance Commission is co-terminus with the executive power of the Union. It extends to all employees of the Central Government. Out of practical considerations, however, currently, the Commission ordinarily advises on cases pertaining to gazetted officers at two stages: once, after the completion of the preliminary enquiry (Ist stage advice) and secondly, once again after the disciplinary enquiry is complete (2nd stage advice).

Director General of Income Tax (Vig) and Chief Vigilance Officer, CBDT

The Vigilance set-up of the Income Tax Department is headed by the Director General of Income Tax (Vigilance). He is also the Chief Vigilance Officer of the organisation. He is responsible for taking the initial decision on complaints against Group-A officers. He is also required to maintain an up to date record of such complaints and their latest status, through the prescribed registers, for submission of quarterly reports to the CVC. All the complaints against Group-A officers are, therefore, required to be forwarded to him for registration in the CVOs register as well as for further necessary action.

As CVO, he is required to examine and comment on all proposals where a reference to the CVC is required to be made. Apart from the officers posted in his headquarters, who assist him in initial processing of complaints and post disciplinary proceeding cases of Group-A officers, four regional Directorates of Income Tax (Vigilance) assist him in conduct of preliminary verifications or investigations in respect of allegations against Group A officers.. He makes all vigilance related references to CBDT, CVC, DOPT, UPSC etc., and puts up their respective advice for a decision by the Disciplinary Authority.

Regional Directorates of Income tax (Vig)

Four Directorates of Income Tax (Vigilance) assist the Director General of Income tax (Vig.) in the handling of vigilance matters pertaining to their respective regional jurisdictions. The designation, headquarters and jurisdiction of these four Directorates are as under:-

Designation

Headquarters

Jurisdiction

DIT(Vig), North

Delhi

Delhi, NWR, Rajasthan, and Kanpur.

DIT(Vig), West

Mumbai

Mumbai, Maharashtra, and Gujarat and Nagpur

DIT(Vig), East

Kolkata

West Bengal, Orissa, NER, Bihar , Lucknow and M.P.

DIT(Vig), South

Chennai

Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, AP, Kerala

These Directorate process complaints against Group 'B' officers and also conduct preliminary verifications and investigations in respect of both Group-A and Group 'B' officers.

The Director General of Income-tax (Vigilance) is the Chief Vigilance Officer (CVO) of the Income-tax department. He/She is appointed with the concurrence of the Central Vigilance Commission, and function directly under the Central Board of Direct Taxes. He/She reports to Member (Personnel) and Chairman, CBDT.

CVO heads the vigilance Division and acts as a special assistant/advisor to the Chief Executive in all matters pertaining to vigilance. He also provides a link between the department and the Central Vigilance Commission and the department and the Central Bureau of Investigation. Vigilance functions to be performed by the CVO include collecting intelligence about the corrupt practices committed, or likely to be committed by the employees of his organisation; investigating or causing an investigation to be made into verifiable allegations reported to him; processing investigation reports for further consideration of the disciplinary authority concerned; referring the matters to the Commission for advice wherever necessary, taking steps to prevent commission of improper practices/misconducts, etc.

Administrative function Supervision and control over the work of the different Directorates of Income Tax (Vigilance).

Vigilance clearance for group A Officers

In respect of group A level officers, finalization of the Agreed List of officers of doubtful integrity and the list of officers whose work would be subjected to Vigilance Inspection.

Maintenance of CVOs registers for Group A officers.

Preparation and furnishing of reports to CBDT /CVC/ Ministries.

Framing of norms and issuing guidelines for vigilance functions of the Department.

Drawing up the annual action plan for vigilance work for various functionaries of the department including DGIT (Vig.) himself, DITs ( Vig.), CCITs and DGITs.

Technical functionsPunitive Vigilance Dealing with complaints.

Vigilance Inspection.

Action on self contained report.

Assistance to Disciplinary Authority in matters relating to Disciplinary Proceedings.

Action in respect for cases processed / investigated by the CBI.

References to CVC.

References to UPSC.

References to DOP & T / Ministry of law / other Departments.

Scrutiny of immovable property returns.

Coordination with CBI and CVC in respect of complaints against officers of the Departments.

Preventive Vigilance To undertake a study of existing procedure and practices to identify those procedures or practices which provide a scope for corruption, and also to suggest suitable modifications.

To undertake a review of the regulatory functions with a view to see whether all of them are strictly necessary and whether the manner of discharge of those functions and exercise of powers of control are capable of improvement;

To device adequate methods of control over exercise of discretion so as to ensure that discretionary powers are not exercised arbitrarily but in a transparent and fair manner;

To educate the citizens about the procedures of dealing with various matters and also to simplify the cumbersome procedures as far as possible;

Miscellaneous DGIT (Vig.) acts as cadre controlling authority in respect of Group B officers as also the staff allocated to the regional directorates and DGIT (Vigilance).

DGIT (Vig) will handle the vigilance and disciplinary matters of the gazetted officers working under his administrative control.

He/She will function as reporting/reviewing officer in respect of the DsIT(Vig)/Addl.DIT working under his/her jurisdiction.

DGIT (Vigilance) shall coordinate the activities and streamline the working of the different directorates functioning under his control.

The scope and ambit of vigilance is very wide indeed and would include in its purview not only matters concerning corruption, bribery, misappropriation, etc. but also any other forms of conduct or behavior which does not behove of a Government servant. However, for the purposes of reference to the Central Vigilance Commission/ DGIT (Vig) & CVO a distinction is to be drawn between vigilance angle on the one hand and administrative angle on the other.

Conduct relating to personal misconduct / misbehavior on the part of the officers:-This, again, may have variations, viz.

Impropriety of language or any other act of insubordination by a subordinate officer in relation to his superiors.

Late attendance or long absence from duty without prior intimation / permission.

Negligence apparent from non-filing of property returns and non-intimation regarding transactions of immovable / movable property.

Non-maintenance of accepted standard of morality, decency, decorum and propriety not just within the confines of office but also in other public places

Grievance petitions, particularly from aggrieved informantsRegarding either non- receipt of anticipated quantum of reward or non-acknowledgement of information allegedly given by them on the basis of which so-called successful searches have been conducted.

Tax evasion petitions, being complaintsRegarding alleged evasion of tax by specific assessees against whom the Department / officers concerned have apparently not taken any action.

Allegations regarding indulgence in corrupt practices by officersBent on seeking pecuniary gratification. These petitions would normally include not only complaints regarding lavish life-style of officers by also their casual attitude towards work stemming not just from incompetence or negligence but mostly from a propensity to confer undue benefits on the assessees at the cost of revenue.

Needless to state,the common perception of a vigilance angle is covered in such cases. Much of the work in the Vigilance Directorate is taken up by enquiries / inspections aimed at ascertaining the veracity of such allegations regarding seeking of monetary gratification by the Government servants on one ground or the other.

Following acts involve vigilance angle:

Demanding and / or accepting gratification other than legal remuneration in respect of an official act or for using his influence with any other official.

Obtaining valuable thing, without consideration or with inadequate consideration from a person with whom he has or likely to have official dealings or his subordinates have official dealings or where he can exert influence.

Obtaining for himself or for any other person any valuable thing or pecuniary advantage by corrupt or illegal means or by abusing his position as a public servant.

Possession of assets disproportionate to his known sources of income.

Cases of misappropriation, forgery or cheating or other similar criminal offences.

There are, however, other irregularities where circumstances will have to be weighed carefully to take a view whether the officers integrity is in doubt. Gross or willful negligence; recklessness in decision making; blatant violations of systems and procedures; exercise of discretion in excess, where no ostensible public interest is evident; failure to keep the controlling authority / superiors informed in time these are some of the irregularities where he disciplinary authority with the help of the CVO should carefully study the case and weigh the circumstances to come to a conclusion whether there is reasonable ground to doubt the integrity of the officer concerned.

The raison detre of vigilance activity is not to reduce but to enhance the level of managerial efficiency and effectiveness in the organization. Commercial risk taking forms part of business. Therefore, every loss caused to the organization, either in pecuniary or non pecuniary terms need not necessarily become the subject matter of vigilance enquiry. Thus, whether a person of common prudence , working within the ambit of the prescribed rules, regulations and instructions , would have taken the decision in the prevailing circumstances in the commercial / operational interests of the organization is one possible criterion for determining the bona fides of the case . A positive response to this question may indicate the existence of bona-fides . A negative reply ,on the other hand , might indicate their absence.

Absence of vigilance angle in various acts of omission and commission does not mean that the concerned official is not liable to face the consequences of his actions . All such lapses not attracting vigilance angle would , indeed, have to be dealt appropriately as per the disciplinary procedure under the service rule.

(Source : para 1.6.1 of the Vigilance Manual (Volume I) (2005 Edition), and CVC Circular No. 004/VGL/18 dated 13.04.2004 ) CVC has further added the following to the definition of Vigilance angle:

Any undue /unjustified delay in the disposal of a case, perceived after considering all relevant factors, would reinforce a conclusion as to the presence of vigilance angle in a case( Source : Instruction No 004/VGL/18 dated 21.12.2005)Cases involving purely administrative or technical lapses

Instance like, habitual late attendance, disobedience and insubordination, technical violation of the Conduct Rules, and other procedural and technical lapses and irregularities, etc. do not come within the purview of the Vigilance Angle. In this connection CVC has clarified that where the lapses are such as not involving any vigilance angle, in such cases, the Disciplinary Authority has to take appropriate action under the Conduct and Disciplinary Rules. So far as complaints without discernible vigilance angle are concerned, the normal practice so far followed in this Directorate has been to pass them on to the cadre-controlling Chief Commissioners/J.S.(Adm.),CBDT for taking necessary administrative action at their ends.

(Source : CVC Office Order No.11/02/04 dated 19.2.04)Responsibility of Supervisory Authority

Rule 3(2)of the CCS (CCA) Rules, which provides that every govt. servant holding a supervisory post shall take all possible steps to ensure the integrity and devotion to duty of all govt. servants for the time being under his control and authority. Thus proceedings against supervisory officers can also be initiated for not ensuring integrity and devotion to duty by their subordinates.

Sources of Complaints Information about corruption, malpractices or misconduct on the part of public servants may come to notice through various sources, such as,

complaints received directly from the public or through the administrative Ministry, CBI and the CVC;

departmental inspection reports, audit objections, proposals u/s 263 of IT Act and stock Verification surveys;

scrutiny of property returns and the transactions reported by the concerned employee under the CCS(Conduct) Rules;

reports of parliamentary committees, etc.. Information received verbally should be reduced to writing and dealt with similarly.

Action on complaints :

Group A officer alone or with others

DGIT(vigilance)/CVO

Group B officer alone or with others

Concerned DIT(Vigilance)

Group C & D officials

Vigilance section of concerned Cadre Controlling CCIT

These authorities, would only deal with cases involving vigilance angle and other complaints be dealt by concerned administrative disciplinary authorities. If the matter requires further investigation they would also decide as to whether the investigation into the allegations should be entrusted to the CBI or taken up departmentally. Every supervisory officer who receives a complaint against his subordinate is expected to give his comments on the allegations as well as recommendations for further action while forwarding the complaint to the appropriate authority through proper channel. However, they should not start making enquiries, unless asked for by the appropriate authority.

Investigation of complaints by departmental vigilance agency

Anonymous/Pseudonymous complaints: Ordinarily no action is taken on any anonymous or pseudonymous complaints. However, if the allegations in the complaints are specific and verifiable, the Complaints can also be investigated with the approval of CVC.( Ref: CVC order no 98/DSP dated 11th October 2002).

Other complaints :

After it has been decided that the allegation contained in a complaint should be looked into departmentally, the concerned authority, i.e. DGIT(Vig), DIT(Vig) or the Vigilance Section of CCIT in respect of cases of Group-A, Group 'B' and NGOs respectively, should proceed to make a preliminary enquiry or investigation. The DGIT(Vig) may conduct the preliminary enquiry himself or entrust it to one of the DsIT(Vig). He may also suggest to the CCIT to entrust the investigation to any other officer considered suitable for the purpose in the particular circumstances.

Stages/Procedure

For details on procedure / stages involved in handling of complaint and in conducting the Disciplinary Proceedings kindly refer to Vigilance Manual of the CVC which is available on the website of the Commission (http://www.cvc.nic.in) and Chapter -12 of Manual of Office Procedure Vol.-I issued by the Department. Flow chart of various processes/ stages is given on next pages.

FLOW CHART FOR PROCESSING OF COMPLAINTS

NOTE: Reference to CVC for first stage advice is mandatory only in Group A Officers cases.

DIFFERENT STAGES OF MAJOR PENALTY PROCEEDINGS

DIFFERENT STAGES OF MINOR PENALTY PROCEEDINGS

INDEX

DA:

Disciplinary Authority

CVO :

Chief Vigilance Officer

VO:

Vigilance Officer

PSR :

Preliminary Scrutiny Report

SCR:

Self Contained Report

I.O. :

Inquiry Officer

C.O. :

Charged Officer

P.O. :

Presenting Officer

CVC :

Central Vigilance Commission

References are made for Vigilance Clearance to the Directorate on following occasions:

1. At the time of

Promotion

Grant of NFSG / Confirmation

2. At the Time of

Retirement on Superannuation

Resignation

Voluntary Retirement

3. At the time of

Deputation

Foreign Studies

Foreign Training

Empanelment

4. At the time of

Grant of reward/ awards in recognition of meritorious services

5. At the time of

Applying for Passport.

Need for Preventive VigilancePreventive vigilance plays an important role in strengthening the vigilance set up of any organization. There has been a wide spread realization that punitive vigilance alone can not be the foundation of an efficient vigilance machinery. In punitive vigilance, the vigilance wing reacts to complaints or information of specific instances of mala fide action, verifies such information and then proceeds against the erring officials. On the other hand, the preventive vigilance sets up procedures and systems to restrain the acts of wrong doing and misconduct in the various areas of the functioning of the department. Preventive vigilance is thus more effective than punitive vigilance. It has several advantages:

It is global in its impact and affects the working of the department as a whole.

It is less costly and does not require elaborate specialized machinery like punitive vigilance.

It is impersonal and does not act as a fetter upon the rightful exercise of authority.

It is not directed against an individual.

It can not be misused for vindictive purposes.

Tools of Preventive Vigilance1. Standardisation :Laying down clear cut conditions/ procedures in order to reduce discretion and scope of granting undue favours.2. Automation:The computerisations of procedures help in reducing interface between officials and taxpayers.3. Transparency :The taxpayers need to be educated about their rights and responsibilities. Transparency can also be extended to performing official functions in public view and across counter tops rather than in covered enclosures.4. Accountability :Accountability should extend to all levels and every person must be held accountable for his action or inaction. For decisions made with improper motives, penalty should be swift and decisive.5. Control and supervision:The success of the above methods depends on effective control and supervision. Right persons should be put in key positions. The personnel policy should discourage long tenures in one post.6. Conducive work environmentThis would involve focus on the following items:Appropriate logistical support including sanction of adequate funds

Adequate manpower

Meaningful and relevant job assignment

Frequent, supportive and instructive interaction between supervisor and subordinates

Transparency in transfer and placement.

Institutional selection for foreign assignment, training and deputation.

Objective performance appraisal and formal recognition of competence.

Promotion of mutual trust.

1. Introduction

AST or Assessment Information System is one of the important modules in the Income Tax

Department (ITD) Applications. The Government approved the Comprehensive Computerization

Programme with ITD Applications for all the important functions of the Income tax Department

in 1993. This included the AST module and is currently in its third phase.

The AST module was conceptualized as an online, menu driven software capable of

carrying out all assessment and related functions. This system was conceptualized in 1994 and

development was completed in 1997. The objective of AST is to assist the assessing officer in

doing assessments and related proceedings

1

. The system was to also monitor progress and

results of a case at various stages viz. assessments, re-assessments, appeal, revision, rectification,

penalty, waiver, settlement commission, penalty proceedings as well as prosecutions and audit

objections. In practice however the software is being used for only processing income tax returns

under section 143 (1) and rectification u/s 154.

There are some other important modules of the ITD Applications, which are critical for the

working of the AST module. They are

The TAS module now renamed OLTAS;

The TDS module now renamed as e-TDS; and

The AIS (PAN Database) module

The IRLA module

Tax payments by the subscribers to government account, by way of Advance Tax, Self

Assessment tax etc., through the authorized banks, are credited and accounted for by the banks in

the OLTAS system.

Tax deducted or collected at source by entities making payments to assessees, where

required to be done, is accounted for in the e-TDS System.

Using the unique assessee identification number, Permanent Account Number (PAN)

which is available in the AIS module of the ITD Applications, these receipts are to be routed

through IRLA and then sent to the AST module to be credited to the correct assessee. The AST