Madhya Pradesh Commercial Tax: Appellate Board Member Appointment Issue Reaches Assembly, Ruling Party MLA Submits Queries
BHOPAL /An alleged appointment of a retired officer in the Commercial Tax Appellate Board (CTAB) as an accountant member has become controversial, the issue has reached the Madhya Pradesh Assembly. A starred question has been submitted in the Assembly secretariat by a ruling BJP legislator in this regard.
Bhartiya Janta Party MLA, Harishankar Khatik has submitted the assembly questions asking about the controversial appointment of a retired joint commissioner of the Commercial Tax department Sudip Gupta as an accountant member in the CTAB, without fulfilling the quorum of the selection committee.
According to sources, the Assembly secretariat has allocated a date of 10 August, to the government for replying during the question hours.
The monsoon session of the State Assembly will begin on August 9 and culminate on 12 August. A total of four sittings will take place during the four-day duration of the session.
In the question, MLA Khatik has asked the Minister for Commercial Tax how the meeting of the selection committee has been conducted without fulfilling the quorum as per section 4 of the Madhya Pradesh VAT (Value Added Tax) Act 2002.
“How many members of the selection committee were present in the meeting to select an accountant member to the CTAB. Had a quorum of the panel been fulfilled by the government? if yes, then, who all were present ” the MLA mention in the starred question.
The meeting of the selection committee was held on 16 June and Gupta’s name had been selected for the accountant member of the CTAB.
Sources said that only three members of the committee comprising chief secretary Iqbal Singh Bains, principal secretary (PS) Commercial Tax Deepali Rastogi and PS Law were present in the meeting but the fourth member, the chairman of the CTAB was absent.
It has been provisioned in the VAT Act 2002 that the appointment of a member of the Appellate Board is made under the chairmanship of the chief secretary. The committee comprises the chairman of the CTAB and the principal secretary of Law as a member. The Principal Secretary of the Commercial Tax Department is the member secretary of the committee. The government hastily conducted a meeting of the committee for appointing Gupta, without fulfilling its quorum in the absence of the CTAB chairman. The chairman post of the Appellate Board is lying vacant for a long time.
Even after, the Commercial Tax ministry on 23 July issued orders of appointing Gupta as an accountant member of the Tribunal.
MLA Khatik has questioned who has been selected as a member of the CTAB. The legislator also quarried if the committee had made any panel for further approval to finalize a name from the applicants, he has also sought the list of the names of the panel.
“Had Gupta been ever suspended, if yes then why? Was he got a promotion on time, if no then why? Would you again consider the appointment of Gupta whose service incumbency has been controversial?” mentioned in the Khatik’s Assembly questions.
According to sources, during the meeting, the committee on 16 June selected the single name of Gupta and sent its decision to the government for the further approval of the Minister for Commercial Tax, Jagdish Devda and the CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan.
Ironically, the committee also defied the Chief Minister’s privilege of considering options by picking a single name. The negatory service record of Gupta has also been hidden by the Commissioner, during the service, he had been suspended for three years, say sources.
Seven retired deputy commissioners had applied for the post of a member of the CTAB, they are SD Richharia, Sudhir Shrivastava, Meera Kumar, RK Tiwari, Sunil Mishra, and OP Pandey.
