Bharadwaj attends passing out parade of PM Special Package appointees of State Taxes Deptt

JAMMU : Additional Chief Secretary Finance Department, Vivek Bharadwaj today attended the Passing Out Parade of SIs appointed at the State Taxes Department under Prime Minister’s Special Package Excise and Taxation Training Institute Nagrota here.

245 such Sub-Inspectors, comprising 81 girls and 164 boys, successfully completed three-month course and got the roll of completion along with 2 stars on their uniform as per their rank.

Vice Chairperson KVIB, Hina Shafi Bhat and Principal CDA Northern Command Jammu, Arti Bhatnagar joined as distinguished guests on the occasion.

Joint Commissioner Central GST, Amit Sharma; Additional Commissioner State Taxes, Neetu Gupta and other senior officers of civil administration were also present on the occasion.

The passing out Parade began with a general salute to the ACS Bharadwaj, who was the chief guest on the occasion, followed by inspection of parade and oath Ceremony.

The cadets presented an impressive march past after which a piping ceremony was held.

The parade was commanded by Sub Inspector MI Bhat. It was followed by an award ceremony where SI Monika Jamwal was adjudged as All Round Best Female, SI Abhimanyu Zutshi as All Round Best Male, SI Ayush Bhat as Indoor Best and SI M. I. Bhat as Outdoor Best cadet.

Speaking on the occasion, Bharadwaj congratulated the passing out candidates and encouraged them to conduct their duties with sincerity and honesty.

The ACS called upon the candidates to educate the public about the role of taxes and revenue extraction in building the nation and its defence.

The very revenue that you collect is used to run the nation, build schools, roads and hospitals and to maintain our security systems, he said.

He also encouraged the candidates to educate the masses about the Goods and Services Taxes (GST). He asked them to highlight that the tax has replaced 17 odd taxes into one simplified form and is in no way affecting the taxpayers extraordinarily.

Commissioner State Taxes J&K, Dr. Rashmi Singh in her welcome address highlighted the importance of the State Taxation Department in revenue generation which forms the bedrock of effective and efficient administrative machinery.

She highlighted the background of commencing this training and innovative measures introduced to hone the skills of the functionaries who would now play a significant role in the department.

The three months training included classroom orientation, field visits, group activities, yoga/ meditation sessions and field attachments.

Classroom orientation focused on the provisions of GST Act, J&K Excise Act, J&K Motor Spirit Act 2005 etc. During on job practical training emphasis was laid on GST portal, data analysis, assessments, field visits and other enforcement activities so as to give a first hand knowledge of implementation of GST Act and functioning of State Taxes Department. In order to prioritise their mental health and life skills, yoga and meditation was made an essential and integral part of their curriculum. In addition to this, trainees were also provided an opportunity to play various indoor and outdoor games for strengthening their physical strength and instilling sportsman spirit.

Resource persons from Central University, experts on GST, narcotics and advocates dealing with tax laws were roped in for delivering lectures . Commissioner State Taxes J&K, Excise Commissioner J&K and other senior officers of the State Taxes Department also interacted with the trainees from time to time.

A documentary showcasing the highlights of the training programme was also released and screened on the occasion.

Excise Commissioner J&K, Pankaj Sharma, rendered the vote of thanks.