CBIC DECIDES TO BEGIN USING

e-OFFICE IN ALL CGST AND CUSTOMS OFFICES

Due to the current situation of COVID-19, Shri M. Ajit Kumar the Chairman of Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) launched the application of e-office over 500 CGST and Customs offices across India on 15th June 2020.

The e-Office application was launched remotely in the presence of over 800 senior officers of CBIC Dr. Neeta Verma, DG, National Informatics Centre (NIC). The e-Office is a Mission Mode Project (MMP) under the National e-Governance of India
 

The e-Office application is developed by the NIC and is supported by the Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances (DARPG).

This application is used over 50,000 offices and staff in India. This will make CBIC one of the largest Government departments to automate its internal office procedures.

BENEFITS OF USING e-OFFICE IN CGST AND CUSTOMS OFFICE:

• The launch of this application i.e E-office has marked a fundamental change in internal procedure which was so far based on handling manually of files and paper movement.
• The launch of e-Office is one more measure taken by the CBIC in leveraging technology for providing a ‘Faceless, Contactless and Paperless’ indirect Tax administration.
• E-Office aims to improve governance by automating the internal processes of handling files and taking decisions within the Government.
• The e-Office application’s main module, eFile, enables on-line file related work, starting from receiving and marking dak, operating a file, preparing a draft letter, its approval/signature, and dispatch of the signed letter.

The use of e-Office CGST and Customs officers in their day to day work, this would lead to a speedier decision making, transparency, accountability. This will also create a positive impact on the environment by cutting down the use of paper and printing.

In the present-day challenging situation arising due to COVID-19 is that e-Office would be helpful to avoid contact with physical files. It will also prevent the possible transmission of any virus.

e-Office ensures amplified security as no file or document can be altered or destroyed or backdated. An in-built monitoring mechanism will be able to identify where the files are held up enabling quick disposal and faster decision making.