EASIEST — Utilities for verification of assessee details - Service Tax - 16/2007

Commissioner of Central Excise, Delhi-IV Trade Notice No. 16/2007 dated 2-1-2008 A number of complaints have been received by the Directorate of Systems from the field formations that assessees falling in their jurisdiction could not make payment of taxes, as the banks had refused to accept the payments citing the reason that the assessee registration details were not available in the Master Directories maintained by them. As per the EASIEST process document, the banks are supposed to capture the details given by the assessee even if the details of the assessee are not available in their Master Directories. Banks had also been requested to download the incremental updates of registration details from NSDL database, which is updated once in a fortnight from SACER/SAPS database. The non availability of the details in the master directories of the banks could be due to one or more of the following reasons : The Assessee Code was not generated through SACER or SAPS and hence not available in database of the department The Directories had not been updated by M/s. NSDL The Banks had not downloaded the incremental updates from M/s. NSDL 2. In order to find out the point at which the mistake had occurred, M/s. NSDL was requested by the Directorate of Systems to provide utility in their web site to verify the availability and check the correctness of the details of any given assessee in NSDL server. Accordingly, utility has been provided by M/s. NSDL at https://cbec.nsdl.com, in which the verification of the assessees details can be done by entering the 15 character Assessee Code. Similarly, availability of data in respect of any assessee in SACER/SAPS database can be carried out by generating an electronic copy of GAR-7 challan using the PRINT GAR-7 CHALLAN utility provided at http://sermon.nic.in. With the help of the above two utilities, the field formations or the assessees can identify whether the registration details are available in the system or not. 3. On verification of the Assessee Code details in the above mentioned utilities, the following scenarios will emerge : (a) The assessee code details are not available in SACER/SAPS database :- If the assessee is registered then the registration would have been given without capturing details in database. This deficiency will have to be made good by divisional officers. If the assessee is not registered, he shall be asked to apply for registration. (b) The Assessee Code details are available in SACER/SAPS but not in NSDL Database : - M/s. NSDL would not have downloaded the data from SACER/SAPS database. Such cases may be brought to the notice of the Additional Director General, Directorate General of Systems, Customs Central Excise, South Zone, 121, Mahathma Gandhi Salai, Nungambakkam, Chennai-600034 for taking it up with NSDL. M/s. NSDL are updating their database once in a fortnight so as to . synchronize with SACER/SAPS database. (c) The Assessee Code details are available in both SACER/SAPS and NSDL but still banks say that the data is not available with them :- In such cases, it is obvious that the banks have to download the incremental updates from NSDL. The issue may be taken up with the concerned banks directly or through the PAO of the Commissionerate. Regular meetings with Bankers may also be conducted to resolve these issues. 4. All Trade Associations are requested to give wide publicity to the contents of this Trade Notice amongst their members/constituents.