It seems the officials of the Central Board of Excise & Customs (CBEC), an arm of the Finance Ministry, are not yet aware of the decision taken by Modi Government in 2015 wherein interviews for recruitment of non-gazetted posts were scrapped as the National Academy of Customs, Indirect Taxes and Narcotics (NACIN) is conducting interviews to select its customs agents.
The matter came to the light after some ‘qualified’ candidates didn’t find their name in the final list in the recently concluded selection examination for customs agents by NACIN. Notably, the customs agents are appointed by the Department to carry out paperwork for goods imported from abroad and for this, online examination is conducted by the NACIN.
The historic decision was taken by the Modi Government to put an end to corruption in recruitments and ensure selection in a transparent manner.
As per the examination criterion, even after passing a written test to become a custom agent, it is still mandatory to clear the interview, which is handled by a commissioner level official.
The nature of custom agent’s job is like GST agent, LIC agent or an income tax filing agent, but still at the level of the commissioner level, this interview is being carried out on its own. According to sources, the candidates have also made several complaints at the highest level against the continuation of interview.
Intriguingly, when contacted, senior-level officials expressed their ignorance about the continuance of interviews for the customs agents. “After January 1, 2016, onwards the interview process for selection of lower-level staff was discontinued, while it continued for selection of Group B gazetted or above positions,” the official said, adding that appointment of custom agent should also be done on the basis of passing the written examination only as when the interview for a job is non-existent, there is no justification for interviewing agents.