SSC CGL Job Profile of Inspector Posts under CBEC

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Hello Aspirants,

In this Posts, We will discuss about the Job Responsibilities, Duties and Nature of Work for INSPECTOR Posts under Central Board Of Excise and Customs (CBEC) offered by SSC.  It comes under Department of Revenue, Ministry of Finance, Govt of India.

 

There are three posts under CBEC which are responsible for the collection of Indirect Taxes. These three posts are: 

1. Inspector (Examiner),
2. Inspector (Central Excise) and  
3. Inspector (Preventive Officer) 

        Grade Pay: 4600 for all three posts.

Although they work under the same department and are responsible for collecting taxes, yet these posts are quite different in every aspect from promotion to exposure. In this article, we would try to provide information for comparing these posts and a better understanding of job much before filling preferences.

1. Inspector (Examiner)

It is the most sought job under CBEC. Why is it so?

Some of the major reasons/ factors are Faster promotion, the Department(Customs) as working in Customs bring pride to the family because you are working for the betterment of the nation by collecting Taxes. Next, the post provides a higher degree of Exposure, you will be get signing authority at the very initial stage just after the joining and completion of training which is of One Month Duration.

Examiners everywhere has two types of posting -

(a) sensitive(Examination) 

(b) non-sensitive (office). 

Rotation between them is periodic. For example, in Mumbai Customs you will be posted in both postings for 6 months alternatively. Means if you are posted in sensitive posting in April – October then you will be posted in office posting for October – April (This time period is different in different zones may be one year for sensitive or non-sensitive in some other zones) 

Examiner's Responsibilities:

In the sensitive posting, you will have to examine the goods to be imported or exported and examine the duty being paid by exporter and importer. The workload in  sensitive postings is high and you might not get enough time. You may also have to work beyond your usual time while working at sensitive postings.  Examiners have Authority to stop the consignment of goods if he found that there is any misinformation or documents are not according to rules. As you are a subordinate officer you have to work within the limit and you should never harass clients (exporter and Importer). This is more important these days as the government is now more like a Facilitator than a Regulator of trades. In the world of Free Trades, the role of customs officer is Limited. So, in practical you have very limited powers. 

In non-sensitive or office posting you will have to do all the work which an assistant (Assistant Section Officer) in CSS does, i.e. Typing letters, writing note sheets, making monthly or ad-hoc reports. 

In addition to this, you may be posted in investigation wing for some time (6 months or 1 year) where you have to do work like Search seizure and detention.

You also may be posted at Personnel and Establishment Section (HR Department) where you have to do the work of posting, promotions, RTI, Administration related work.

Main Duty of an Examiner (according to booklet given at the time of joining) is to give clearances, he has the power to access and examine goods, power to take samples, examine the cargo which needs to be imported or exported to other countries and then, levy the charges (duty) on that shipment. After examining the goods, examiner need to prepare lists, check market values of confiscated goods, loading and unloading of the goods whether generally or specifically, escorting goods from one Customs area to the other (especially in case of gold and other precious material), and any other customs work authorized to him by the Commissioner of Customs. Moreover, an examiner also needs to help the officers in Auctioning of Goods.

Work location: 

This is an all-time coastal job. You will be posted at any one of the cities according to your rank and preference and availability of seats. Cities/Zones are Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Goa, Vizag, Kochi. 

This is not a uniform post.

Promotion (Career Growth):

One of the main reasons that it is considered to be the best job offered by SSC CGL Exam is faster promotions as compared to the other posts of CGLE. Once you are placed as an Examiner under CBEC (Central Board of Excise and Customs) you can expect an exceptionally well career growth.

The career progression can be seen in the following way.

• Appraiser (Group-B Gazetted)
• Assistant Commissioner
• Deputy Commissioner
• Joint Commissioner
• Commissioner
• Commissioner

There is a qualifying period of 3 years for the promotion to the post of Appraiser; means he can’t be promoted to that post before completion of three years service as Examiner. There is a departmental exam for confirmation; without passing in that neither he can be made confirmed nor he can be promoted to the next post.

Promotion period differs from zone to zone since there is zonal seniority. For example, In Chennai zone the promotion to appraiser is fastest as of now, normally 3 and half years. In Mumbai it’s almost 5 years.

Salary, Pay Scale and Allowances -Examiner under CBEC:  

After 7th Pay Commission, Examiner post comes under 4600-grade pay and the Basic salary will be somewhere around 44900.

On the Basis Of this Basic Salary, the Estimated Salary of Examiner after 7th pay commission is as follows:

Basic + Allowances	X- Category Cities	Y- Category Cities	Z- Category Cities
Basic	44900	44900	44900
DA
HRA	10776	7184	3592
TA	3600	1800	1800
DA on TA
Gross Salary	59276	53884	50292
NPS	4490	4490	4490
CGHS	325	325	325
CGEIS	2500	2500	2500
Deductions	7315	7315	7315
Salary in Hand	51961	46569	42977

Transfers: In the Examiner profile, you will remain only in the coastal region, so spouse ground for transfer will not work if you want the non-coastal transfer. Moreover, Examiner is liable to transfer anywhere in his custom zone. You may get temporary deputation (usually 1 year) to Northern India but otherwise would stay in coastal areas only.

2. Inspector (Central Excise): EXCISE (Inspector)

EXCISE (Inspector) Responsibilities: First, one should know what excise duty actually is.

Central Excise duty is an indirect tax levied on those goods which are manufactured in India and are meant for home consumption. 

An Excise Inspector can be posted in either Assessment of tax (work related to augmentation of the central Excise tax, Service Tax, detection of evasion of tax) or non-assessment (clerical type job). For the administrative reason, Area is divided into Range. Each range is headed by a Superintendent designated as 'Range Officer'. Each Range officer has two to four inspectors in his charge. Each inspector is in charge of a certain number of units, which varies from Range to Range. The jurisdiction of an inspector is called 'Sector'.

In short, Excise Inspector is given some sort of power at the very initial stage. This is not with every post offered by SSC. 

Though only Excise and Service Tax come under Excise but in some places where there is a lack of examiner and preventive officers Excise Inspectors handle duties of an examiner and preventive officers and work like a custom officer. This is common at borders with Nepal, Bangladesh etc.This is called ‘Land Custom’ in common language. This is preferred by some Excise Inspectors for some ‘unknown’ reasons.

Deputation to other departments is also very common. Apart from this, they are also posted in Customs Intelligence Agency like DRI(Directorate of Revenue Intelligence), where most of the personnel belong to Central Excise. Thus, Excise inspectors are the most experienced officers among Three Inspectors of CBEC.

Work Location:

Though not preferred by top rankers, it is famous among toppers when reappearing for getting a decent job in Home State. Many Examiners posted at coastal cities and Income Tax Inspector posted far from their home Town, leave their Jobs and join Excise as this post provide an opportunity to work near Home Town and they don’t have to top ranker for that.  

Working Hours:

The workload is not high but due to Biometric Attendance system, you will have to reach office on time. Earlier there was some sort of liberty. 

Salary: Grade Pay 4600. 

New Basic According to 7th Pay commission is Rs. 44900, which converts into around Rs.60,000 (Gross) and 55,000 (NET) in X-Category of cities. 

PROMOTION:

First Promotion is to the Rank of Superintendents which is Gazetted Post. According to current rules, you will be eligible for promotion after 8 Years of Service, but there is a proposal to make it 3 years. The proposal is in the final stage of approval. The overall prospect of promotion was/ is gloomy but it will change fast if the new proposal is approved and implemented successfully. 

Promotions in order are: 

1. Superintendents (Group-B Gazetted)

2. Assistant Commissioner (Group A-IRS)

3. Deputy Commissioner

4. Joint Commissioner

5. Addl. Commissioner

6. Commissioner

You’ve to pass a departmental exam to get promotion but it is for “screening”, otherwise promotion is actually given based on your zonal seniority. 

Uniform:  

Insiginia of Central Excise Inspector

This is a Uniform Job (Khaki with Ashoka Stambh on Chest and Three Stars on Shoulders) which is also a point of attraction for many, especially from aspirants from Rural Background where Khaki(Uniform) itself means Power and Prestige. But it's optional to wear. It is often wore on some special occasion like Republic Day.

Transfer Policy: 

Excise inspectors are posted at both sensitive and non-sensitive postings on rotation which is two years as per the latest rule. However, while posting at sensitive locations your work will be reviewed after one year and if you don’t perform there you will be transferred to another sensitive posting.

After the final selection from SSC, you will have option to choose/ prefer commissionerate which will be allocated to you according to your Rank. After you are allocated to any commissionerate there is no tenure system within commissionerate that means you will not be transferred to any other commissionerate unless you wish so or you are promoted.  

The transfer is also done on the ground of spouse. 

3.Inspector (Preventive Officer):

Inspector (Preventive Officer) under CBEC is considered to be an adventurous and broadly classified job.  You are the first to interact with Assesses/Clients of the department.  This is a uniform post which makes it most attractive officer of CGL as the uniform is white (same as that of officers of Indian Navy) with Ashoka Stambha on Chest and with 2 yellow strips on the shoulders. You will have to wear the uniform while on duty on a regular basis. Social Recognition is also very high and can be considered a high-profile job as you will be posted at various International airports and Major sea Ports. 

 

Custom Duty officer’s responsibilities:

Preventive officers are the most dynamic officer of the department. You will be posted at various places and your role will change accordingly. You will be usually posted at Airports as customs Officer, at sea port as Gate officer, in investigation section as Investigation officer, as control room officer in control room of HQ, as Patrolling Officer posted at any Ship. You might be given an opportunity to work as an Examiner if there is a shortage of Examiner at that location for any reason. 

In office posting, you will have to do clerical work e. g. Making reports, Do Noting, Drafting also. He may be posted in Personnel and Establishment Section (HR Department) to handle joining, transfer & Promotions matters of staffs of the department.

As Customs Officer At the airport, your main work will be to collect custom duty from passengers coming from abroad. You will be in charge of a post where actual work will be done by Head Constables and Sub-Inspectors and you will be a supervisory officer. You have to be sure that there is no smuggling at the airport. 

The work of gate officers is to ascertain the genuineness of Out of charge given to any container by Appraisers or any other officers at sea ports.

As Protocol officer to commissioners, you may be assigned some work related to special Protocol on visits of Members, Chairman and Ministers etc.  

As Patrolling Officer at ship, you will get the chance to Experience the Big Ships very closely. This experience is very lively and you will feel like a real customs officer.

Work of control room officer is to provide the information asked by outsider on phone or by other means.

A PO has to do least file work among all three Inspectors of CBEC.

In short, Core job is to prevent smuggling and collect duties at the airport.

Working Hours:

Normal working hours. May extend if required depending upon the workload. You will have to work in shifts as working hour at International Airport is 24*7. However, you will have to work for only 8 hours in a shift and if you stretch (do over time) you will be compensated well for that. Actually, most of the officers prefer to perform the duty of 12 hours in a shift so he can stay at home longer and avoid transport inconvenience. 

Work Location: 

This post lies in 6 zones only, namely Kolkata, Kochin, Chennai, Vishakhapatnam, Mumbai, and Goa.

There is a rotation for posting within the zone and you will be posted at both sensitive and Non-Sensitive Posts on the rotation basis. Sensitive posting is also called field posting. Rotation is done after 6 months at some places and after 1 year at some places. 

Salary: 

He is posted in the pay band 9,300-34,800 with grade pay of Rs 4,600. According to the present pay scales, in hand salary in class, A cities would be around 50K, in class B cities it would be around 45K and in class C cities it would be around 42K. All figures are estimated and rounded off. Actual salary can be somewhat different but around these figures. 

Promotion:

First Promotion is to the Rank of Superintendents which is Gazetted Post. This takes around 8-10 years or even more. According to current rules, you will be eligible for promotion after 8 Years of Service, but there is a proposal to make it 3 years. The proposal is in the final stage of approval. The overall prospect of promotion was/ is gloomy but it will change fast if a new proposal is approved and implemented successfully. 

You will have to pass the confirmation test in the first two years to get confirmed. It is very easy and there is almost 100% success rate in this. However, promotion is not based on any test but on Zonal Seniority. 

Promotions in order are: 

1. Superintendents (Group-B Gazetted)

2. Assistant Commissioner(IRS)

3. Deputy Commissioner

4. Joint Commissioner

5. Addl. Commissioner

6. Commissioner

Transfer: 

After final selection from SSC you will be allocated a zone and your posting will be done at various offices/locations within the Zone only. You will not be transferred to another zone unless you wish so or you are promoted. Even if you wish to get yourself transferred to another zone it is not easy to get inter-zone transfers and it is up to the authority to transfer. Th authority will consider the availability of vacancies at the zone you applied for and many other factors come into light. However, there is some relaxation when it comes to transfer on Spouse ground and illness.

Training of PO is done at the Regional Training Institute of the respective Zone you will be selected for. Duration of training is of around 1 month.

  Inspectors(Central Excise/ Examiner/ Preventive Officer) under CBEC -Physical Standards

Male Candidates
Physical standards (Minimum)

• Height: 157.5 cm
• Chest: 81 cm (fully expanded with a minimum expansion of 5 cm)

Height relaxable by 5 cm (In the case of Garhwalis, Assamese, Gorkhas and members of Scheduled Tribes)
Physical Test

• Walking: 1600 meters in 15 minutes
• Cycling: 8 Km in 30 minutes

Female Candidates
Physical standards (Minimum)

• Height: 152 cm
• Weight: 48 Kg

Height relaxable by 2.5 cm and weight by 2 Kgs (In case of Gorkhas, Garhwalis, Assamese and members of Scheduled Tribes)
Physical Test

• Walking: 1 Km in 20 minutes
• Cycling: 3 Km in 25 minutes

This physical standard is also same for Inspector & Sub-Inspector in CBN

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