Wet, set, go: Ahead of historic rollout, GST offices in Mumbai have leaky roofs

Around 500 tax officials from the audit wing of the customs and excise department who are now also known as GST officers, are working in shabby and dangerous conditions.

 

Highlights

• 1

  Around 500 tax officials are working in shabby and dangerous conditions.
• 2

  Their work is crucial for the longawaited financial reform to deliver on expectations
• 3

  The two-storey building is owned by the Maharashtra State Electricity Board

Even as some citizens are concerned that the historic goods and services tax (GST) will push prices of several items through the roof, a group of government officials in Mumbai paving the way for the July 1 rollout has been hit by collapsing and leaky ceilings.
Around 500 tax officials from the audit wing of the customs and excise department who are now also known as GST officers, are working in shabby and dangerous conditions.
Their work is crucial for the longawaited financial reform to deliver on expectations of turning a highly fragmented market with an unwieldy welter of taxes into a true single market for manufactured goods and services.
The finance ministry has approved four main GST rate bands: 5 per cent, 12 per cent, 18 per cent and 28 per cent. The move is likely to boost government revenues and the country's sovereign credit profile.
However, Rohit Singla, deputy commissioner in the service tax department, got the shock of his life this week when a large chunk of the ceiling crashed inside his cabin while he was working on a computer six feet away.
On the same day, almost the entire roof over the conference room in the same Dharavi office collapsed. To make matters worse, one corner of this service tax building has no electricity.
"Since the last two days, with a fear of possible short circuit, we are not working on our computers in that corner," said an officer. "It looks funny, but some officers are working on desktops under open umbrellas in a bid to protect themselves from water leakage (after heavy rain) and collapsing ceilings."
Shishir Agnihotri, general secretary of the central excise superintendent association in Mumbai, told Mail Today, "The situation is quite dangerous and grave. Every year, during monsoon, we have been working in such pathetic conditions where all our desktops, printing machines, fax machines, cables, etc, have to be covered with big plastic sheets."
On Thursday afternoon, senior officials threw a lunch party for all colleagues to celebrate their entering into the new era of GST from July 1. "In this excitement, nobody is complaining about such poor conditions. But these incidents are affecting our work," a senior commissioner said.
The two-storey building is owned by the Maharashtra State Electricity Board (MSEB) that receives annual rent from the customs and excise office.
"We have been complaining to MSEB to repair the roof and improve our infrastructure, but MSEB is not taking the matter seriously. In fact, this being a disputed property, the board is unwilling to spend any money on such repairs," Agnihotri said.
Fortunately, the office has no direct interface with traders and companies to tackle GST-related issues. Also, the income tax office in Mumbai's Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC) also witnessed a roof collapse that left one official injured. "It was due to poor maintenance despite informing all the concerned authorities since one year. The CPWD and income tax administration are responsible for this incident," a senior IT official told Mail Today.