Stopping rebate settlements right: Excise dept

A high-ranking officer of the excise department has defended the move to stop settlement of excise rebate claims in Surat in the wake of the multi-crore rupee rebate scam.

S C Mathur, chief commissioner, central excise & customs department, Vadodara zone, told Business Standard, "The decision to stop settling rebate claims temporarily is a precautionary measure. Its sole intention is to make sure that no bogus claims are settled.

In response to a query, the chief commissioner said, "A total of 42 excise officers were suspended in December for their involvement in the scam. The suspensions of 26 of these officers were revoked in February. A decision regarding the suspensions of the remaining 16 officers would be taken in May," he said.

Mathur said that there is no way to control the individual cases of corruption. "But we have initiated measures to improve the image and the functioning of the department."

"We intend to organise training programmes for the officers and the staff. We have issued instructions regarding the detailed investigation of the cases, and proper issuance of show-cause notices. We have asked the commissioners to be proper leaders and motivate the staff to perform well. All these combined, would certainly help in improving the department's image."

Sushil Solanki, commissioner, central excise & customs, Surat - I, said, "We have settled rebate claims worth Rs 50 lakh in the last two weeks. The total pending claims are in the region of Rs 30 crore, and we expect to settle 50 to 60 per cent of these claims by the end of May."

Solanki said that exporters are equally to be blamed for non-settlement of rebate claims.

"The exporters are asking us to expedite the claim settlement, but until two weeks back, most of the exporters had not given us the invoices and other documents," he said.