Appointment of Officers
(1) The Board may, in addition to the officers as may be notified by the Government under section 3, appoint such persons as it may think fit to be the officers under this Act.
(2) Without prejudice to the provisions of sub-section (1), the Board may, by order, authorise any officer referred to in clauses (a) to (h) of section 3 to appoint officers of central tax below the rank of Assistant Commissioner of central tax for the administration of this Act.
Relevant Circulars, Notifications and Clarifications
1. Notification No. 02/2017-Central Tax, dated 19.06.2017 notifying the jurisdiction of Central Tax Officers;
2. Notification No. 14/2017-Central Tax, dated 01.07.2017 issued to assign the jurisdiction and powers of various directorates;
3. Notification No. 39/2017-Central Tax, dated 13.10.2017 read with Notification No. 10/2018-Central Tax, dated 23.01.2018 issued to cross-empower State Tax officers for processing and granting of refunds;
4. Circular No. 3/3/2017 dated 05.07.2017 read with Circular No. 31/05/2018 dated 09.02.2018 issued to clarify the functions of the Proper officers;
5. Circular No. 9/9/2017 dated 18.10.2017 issued regarding the officer authorized for enrollment of GST Practitioners.
Introduction
All statutory functions cannot be performed by executive officers. There is a necessity to appoint administrative staff to assist executive officers.
Analysis
The power to appoint executive officers remains with the government but the authority to appoint administrative staff is left to the Board – Central Board of Excise and Customs constituted under the Central Boards of Revenue Act, 1963. The administrative staff make up the entire working team of administrative staff also called ‘field formations’. While the authority to appoint administrative staff is vested with the Board, express provision is made to permit officers under section 3 to appoint, for the purposes of Central Tax, certain administrative staff.
This provision ensures an executive order issued by (say) Principal Chief Commissioner or Principal Director-General or any subordinate officer to immediately confer status administrative staff to the erstwhile field formations for purposes of Central Tax.